Healthier Together is a UK-wide programme which aims to improve outcomes for children and their families, and is a free website full of resources and materials including information leaflets, self-care advice and guidance on when and how to access healthcare services.

The resources also include physical and mental health support and advice, helping support parents, carers and professionals to keep children in their care safe and healthy.

The website is available by clicking on the link HERE and brings together all local help available. It also signposts where to seek further assistance from health and social care professionals.

The UK's childhood vaccination programme prevents around 5,000 deaths, and over 100,000 hospital admissions, each year in England.

Vaccinations have ensured the UK has been declared free of diseases such as polio, with others, like diphtheria, almost fully controlled. However, in recent years we have seen a trend of lower vaccine uptake, and this has been exacerbated by the pandemic. 

We have already begun to see increased cases of measles and whooping cough, with outbreaks around the country, so there is an urgent need to ensure children are vaccinated and protected against these serious illnesses.

"Weaning need'nt be a stressful time for parents, as there's lots of support available" is part of the reassuring message being shared by Health Visitors across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

Local healthcare professionals are offering advice to parents on introducing solid food to their baby's diet. A national NHS campaign has re-launched this week to reassure parents and provide advice on what is a significant milestone in their baby's life. 

For more information, please click HERE

NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin has unveiled a new initiative aimed at addressing the issue of loneliness among children in the region.

The 'Open Up' campaign, launched to co-inside with Loneliness Awareness Week (10-16 June), seeks to raise awareness about the signs of loneliness and provide practical guidance and support to parents, carers, and children on how to prevent and combat loneliness. 

It comes at a time when loneliness is a growing concern, research from Sports England found that over 350,000 young people (years 7-11, aged 11-16) said they feel lonely, which the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates to be more than one in nine young people.

For more information about the Open Up campaign, visit: open-up.co.uk