ChatHealth is a text service for 11 to 19 year-olds. Young people can text with a member of our team about any physical or emotional health concerns they have. This service is available Monday to Friday, 9am on 07520 618850. This service is confidential and anonymous.
All texts get an automatic message that says:
“Thanks for texting the School Nurse. Your nurse is currently on duty and your message will be seen soon. We respond to urgent messages first and we aim to respond to all messages within 24 hours, Monday to Friday. If you need help in the meantime, contact your doctor, visit a NHS walk-in centre or call NHS 111. If it is an emergency, dial 999 or visit A&E. For our safety and yours we store your messages on electronic records. Records can be seen by other healthcare professionals but we all follow strict confidentiality rules.”
We will then send a confidentiality message at the beginning of the conversation with the nurse. Your messages are confidential, however we may inform someone if we are concerned for your safety. The message will say:
“Before we get into any further details I thought it would be a good time to explain about confidentiality. A school nurse will not pass on anything you say to anyone else, like parents, teachers, or other students unless we discuss it with you first – however, in extreme circumstances like if the health, safety or welfare of you or someone else is at significant risk, we are legally obliged to let others know. If we did need to tell someone about something you have told us, we would always try to speak with you first. For our safety and yours we hold information that you tell us on electronic records that can be seen by other healthcare professionals who all follow the same confidentiality rules – this can include your doctor. Records are kept for future use and destroyed after a specified time.”
