Two NHS trusts have set up a Twitter campaign to aid people who fall ill during the Christmas period, croydon.nhs.uk reports.
NHS London and NHS South West London has created the 12-day ‘Choose Well’ campaign, where they will tweet rhymes every day for 12 days of Christmas, pointing people in the right direction for a variety of festive ailments.
The tweets will come with the hashtag ‘#NHSXmas’ so people can follow them and read them every day. The first has already been decided upon and is set to read: “On the first day of #NHSXmas, I sprained my back putting up the Christmas tree. What would be the most appropriate treatment for me?”
In this case, the answer will be a walk-in centre, urgent care centre or minor injuries unit, as the GP surgeries will be closed.
The NHS trusts set about creating the social media marketing scheme to take the pressure off 999 call handlers – who are typically busy this time of year – with people more likely to phone over Christmas than other times of the year when surgeries are open.
Speaking to guardian.co.uk about the scheme, a medical director at NHS London, Dr Andy Mitchell, explained: “There are a wide variety of NHS services available and I know it can sometimes be confusing knowing which one is right for you when you’re not feeling 100 per cent.
“Over 76,000 people follow London’s NHS organisations on Twitter, so we’re tweeting this Christmas to reach out to Londoners with some examples of illnesses and injuries typical at this time of year, and advice on where they can be treated.”
