A text messaging service aimed at helping teenagers and young people access confidential health advice has now been launched, as part of the Northamptonshire Teenage Pregnancy Strategy.
The project, which is funded by the Strategy, based at Northamptonshire County Council and implemented locally by Northamptonshire Heartlands Primary Care Trust, will run as a pilot in Corby initially, but if successful, will be rolled out throughout the Heartlands area (which also includes Kettering, Nene Valley and Wellingborough).
The service is named 'Safe TXT 4 U' * a pupil at Lodge Park School in Corby came up with the winning name in a competition launched by Corby Local Health Group earlier in the year, before the service was launched.
Anyone can text into the number 44778188592 and will receive an immediate automated response from the service. The messages are then read at regular intervals by health professionals who respond back with a text message.
Teenage Pregnancy Coordinator for Northamptonshire Jane Waite said: "The service is manned by a range of professionals including health visitors and school nurses, and we are hoping to roll it out.
"This is another way of actively supporting young people with not only giving advice on areas such as safe sex but also urging them to delay their first sexual experience until they are completely ready and armed with the right information and advice.
"Although primarily this is a health service, young people can also text in about other issues such as bullying and will be pointed in the right direction for help."
Young people can send in as little or as much information as they want. Their text can only be replied to once as we do not keep the number on file.
Joy Everitt, Health Promotion Specialist for Corby, said: "The service can be used by young people for any concerns, information and help on any subject and the service is completely confidential as the nurse answering does not know the phone number of the person who has sent the message. The text messages cost the caller their normal text rate."
ENDS
Notes for Editors
Northamptonshire Teenage Pregnancy Strategy is a ten year Partnership Programme made up of the County Council, the County's Primary Care Trusts, Northampton General and Kettering General Hospitals, Supporting People, Connexions and Housing and Voluntary Agencies.
Its aim is to reduce the number of conceptions among under 18s by 50 per cent by 2010; and tackle social exclusion of young parents by getting 60 per cent back into education, employment or training.
In 1998 in Northamptonshire there were 46.3 conceptions per 1,000 women aged Under 18. The rate has now fallen to 40.8 per 1000 in 2003.
In 2000 the Government pledged to reduce the number of teenage conceptions by half by 2010.
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