HEALTH MATTERS

●● DR Lesley Bayliss, retired GP and NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) clinical champion for children. ONE of the most rewarding things about working for NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG is being involved in the commissioning of projects and services that will genuinely benefit the local population and health system – which I believe is exactly what the CATCH app will do.

Now available free on the App Store for iPhones and iPads and Play Store for Androids and tablets, CATCH is an innovative product aimed at parents and carers of those aged 0-5, as well as expectant parents.

It provides NHSapproved healthcare advice, highly localised information about the services available in Cheshire East and a map of where they are in proximity to you.

The app also allows you to input you child’s date of birth, meaning it will only provide you with information that’s relevant to your child’s age and notify you with timely reminders about key health dates – such as immunisations.

CATCH came about as a result of a study by Cheshire East Council’s Public Health department, which found that large numbers of children are attending A&E at Macclesfield District General Hospital and are simply being sent home with advice – meaning they didn’t really need to be there and could have perhaps been better served with self-care.

So Public Health Cheshire East, ourselves and NHS South Cheshire CCG came together to try and rectify the problem, and the CATCH app was the result. It is hoped the app will give parents and carers the knowledge and self-confidence to treat their children themselves when appropriate, but equally not be deterred from taking their child to A&E in a genuine emergency or after an accident.

We want Cheshire East to be the best place for children to grow up in and this app is a great step towards achieving this goal.

I really hope that people embrace the app and adopt the self-care approach where appropriate, which is not only beneficial to the patient but also eases pressure on the NHS.

Find out more at catchapp.co.uk.