NHS Wirral has launched a new community based nutrition and dietetic service to help young people stay healthy and to live longer.

A dedicated team of six dietitians is on hand across Wirral to give advice and guidance and treatment to support children and young people.

The new service launch is part of a shift to providing services out in the community so that they are easy to access for patients. In addition, it will help alleviate the high volumes which are currently being experienced in hospitals.

The team provides expert advice on a wide range of health and eating conditions.

Areas of specialism include food allergy/intolerance, faltering growth, diabetes, weight issues, early years nutrition, home enteral tube feeding, weaning, coeliac disease and cystic fibrosis.

At the launch, Lowri Lloyd-Jones, Head of Community Nutrition and Dietetic Service for NHS Wirral, said: “This service brings together services which have historically only been available from the hospital and brings them into a community setting.

"This makes it easier for children and their parents to come along for their health care in venues closer to home or be visited by a dietitian in their own home.”

The team operates from ten locations across Wirral - including Children’s Centres in Bebington and West Wirral as well as Birkenhead and Wallasey.

This new service will support a Government initiative called the National Standards Framework (NSF) which aims to improve standards of healthcare across Wirral.