Students called on to choose well this winter

Bangor University students are being urged to ‘Choose Well’ for health treatment this winter following the arrival of a national campaign at campus.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and Bangor University have joined together to launch a massive drive to advise students on how to access the most appropriate health care for an illness or injury while away from home.

Choose Well will be the message across campus after health campaign leaflets are distributed right across the university grounds. The NHS campaign users a colour coded thermometer to signpost patients to the most suitable care for their needs, helping to make sure that Emergency Departments are only used for serious illnesses or injuries.

An online Choose Well app is now available for download for Android and Apple phones which also helps people locate the nearest appropriate service to their location. Welsh Government figures say that only 27 per cent of people who go to Emergency Departments are admitted as an Emergency.

Dr Olwen Williams Chief of Staff, Primary Community & Specialist Medicine Clinical Programme Group, said: “Winter is the busiest time of year for us and there’s a year on year increase in the number of people using the service. By using the most appropriate service students can help us help the people who really face life or death in our emergency department at Ysbyty Gwynedd and help our staff give them a fighting chance.

“By using the campaign information along with the local medical information supplied to them by the university, we hope that students will be much better informed regarding what service can provide the best help for them when they are ill or suffering from an injury.”

Student health nurse Beverly Williams is spearheading the leaflet drop around Bangor University.

She said: “Choose Well is great guidance for students who may be facing their first winter away from home in an unfamiliar place away from their traditional sources of health care. We want to make sure that by supporting them with this campaign, they have the knowledge to choose the appropriate help from the local information we supply them with at the start of the year.”

Source: Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board

Publication date: 17 December 2013