People in Southport and Formby can now help themselves to live healthier, happier lives using accredited health applications included on sefton.orcha.co.uk.

Health and care partners across the NHS, local authority and voluntary, community and faith sector (VCF) in Sefton have worked with the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Applications (ORCHA) to develop an online health app library tailored to the health needs of Sefton residents.

Dr Peter Chamberlain, local GP and chair of NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said:

“This is a fantastic development for people in Sefton. Health apps can provide people with important information to help them manage their health conditions and live healthier and happier lives through exercise and healthy living. The ORCHA Health App Library makes it quicker and easier to access safe, accredited health and wellbeing apps, which can make a real difference to people’s lives.”

There are thousands of accredited health apps listed on sefton.orcha.co.uk and they have been carefully selected to meet the health needs of people in Sefton. They include apps to help people with children and young families, to help people keep active, eat healthier or to support their mental health or manage long term conditions such as diabetes, asthma or heart disease.

Dr Rob Caudwell, local GP and chair of NHS Southport and Formby CCG, said:

“Anyone can use sefton.orcha.co.uk to access health support and information that they can rely on. In addition, we’re training health and care professionals in Sefton on how to use the app library to select specific apps that can help to support the people they care for. For some people using these health apps can enable them to take better care of their own health.”

Liz Ashall Payne, CEO, ORCHA said:

“ORCHA is the world’s leading health app evaluation and distribution organisation and works with the NHS and health professionals across the UK. We continuously review all of the apps on the ORCHA health app library, ensuring that they meet stringent NHS guidelines, to provide health information you can rely on.”

Deborah Butcher, designate place director at Sefton Partnerships said:

“Digital health is revolutionising health and care services, helping to provide care that is more patient-centred and empowering. The apps selected for the health app library are aligned to our local assessment of the borough’s health needs. They give our health and care professionals more tools to support care and they give local people access to reliable, accredited information to enable them to live healthier, happy lives.’

‘This is another great example of how our partnership of NHS, Sefton Council and VCF organisations is working to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Sefton.”