A MIDDLEWICH mum has heaped more praise on an award winning free child health app called ‘CATCH’.

CATCH, which stands for Common Approach to Children’s Health, is a free, innovative app that helps parents and carers of children under the age of five look after them when they fall ill and to seek medical advice when necessary.

Nikki Whinnett found out about the award-winning app through an advert she placed in her role as a digital advertising consultant for the Knutsford and Wilmslow Guardian. She had her first child, Jaxon, 11 months ago, and has been using the CATCH app ever since.

Nikki said: “When I first returned to work Jaxon came down with a virus and I was unsure who to speak to and when. I went to the Internet first but a lot of advice online is conflicting, and I never knew which advice to follow so I downloaded CATCH.

“The app was my first port of call when Jaxon’s temperature shot up. CATCH advised me to ring NHS 111. It was so useful to have a trusted source of information at my fingertips while going through a scary time for a new mum.”

All the information in the app comes from NHS-approved sources, which is then reviewed by Cheshire GPs before appearing on the app.

NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG, NHS South Cheshire CCG and Cheshire East Council came together to develop the app in partnership with Liverpool-based health technology studio Damibu Ltd to empower parents to take best care of their little ones and ease the pressure on A&E, after a study found that attendances at Cheshire East hospitals among children up to the age of four was higher than the national average.

The app is also highly personalised, as parents can input their child’s date of birth and it will only present health information and reminders that are relevant to their child’s age.

You can download CATCH from the Android Play Store or Apple App Store. Download links and more are available on catchapp.co.uk.