Youth Parliament members hope to ‘go viral’ to help the NHS this winter

A group of young people from the Central Bedfordshire Youth Parliament could be heading for worldwide social media fame after creating a series of video posts for the local NHS this winter.

The teenagers – drawn from communities across Central Bedfordshire – have contributed the videos as part of a campaign from Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board to encourage local residents to choose the right NHS services as the winter draws on.

The videos draw on memes popular with social media users, and will start to feature on local NHS feeds this month amidst more traditional messages.  The campaign reminds residents about the ease and convenience of seeking advice from the NHS 111 website, as well as when to use the Pharmacy First service and other winter health messages.

Maria Wogan, director of neighbourhood health and partnerships at Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, said:

“Every winter we face the challenge of finding new and eye-catching ways of reminding eligible local residents about the importance of getting vaccinated against flu and other infections, as well as more generic messages about how they can help the NHS to carry on providing care throughout the winter.

“This year we’ve chosen to include some new and innovative content from the Central Bedfordshire Youth Parliament, which are a fun way for us all to get the message about using NHS services effectively.  I’m so grateful to the members of the Youth Parliament for getting involved in this way.

“Although the content is aimed at engaging younger residents, I’m sure people of all ages will appreciate them and will hopefully share them on their own social media accounts, so that everyone knows how to get the right treatment from the NHS this winter.”

Tommy Axe, a member of the Central Bedfordshire Youth Parliament, said:

“We were delighted to get involved in this project because young people often aren’t as engaged in NHS messages as other age groups.  We hope to help people of our own age to become more aware of how to use NHS services, especially in the winter months, and to enable them to inform other members of their families about what’s available.

“Hopefully people will like the content we’ve created as much as we enjoyed making it.  It’s been a terrific experience to create messages with a client in mind, rather than just consuming them as most young people do.”

Cllr Steve Owen, executive member for children’s services at Central Bedfordshire Council, said:

“We are always keen to give the young people we work with a range of experiences, and it’s been great to expose them to the world of work through our partnership with the local NHS.  Members of our Youth Parliament have already participated in consultations on health services for the age group they represent, so this is a natural next step for them to be involved in.”

The content produced by the young people involved will be available on the Integrated Care Board’s social media feeds throughout Winter 2025/26, from December onwards:

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/BLMKHealthAndCare
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/blmk_hcp
• TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@blmk.hcp