Should you need urgent health advice please contact your GP or call NHS 111. In an emergency please visit A&E or call 999
Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for the writing, publishing and updating of the content on this page.
Want advice about a health issue, and maybe feel too embarrassed to ask?
Get confidential health advice and support on a range of areas including:
Plus many more including; nutrition and diet, smoking, friendships, alcohol, exercise, anger management, puberty, relationships, young carers.
Text ChatHealth on 07520 618850
How does it work?
ChatHealth is a confidential and anonymous text service for 11 to 19 year-olds available 9am-5pm every week day, excluding bank holidays. The text line stays open during the school holidays too. We guarantee that you will receive a response within 24 hours Monday to Friday. If you message at other times, we will send an automated out-of-hours message with details of where you can find support.
This service is totally confidential: we only share your information if we are worried about you or someone else’s safety or if you share information which may be concerning or put you or someone else at risk or danger.
Chathealth is not a crisis line, if you need urgent help call 111 and they will be able to support you.
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.”
