The NHS has launched a ground breaking web app to help people locate symptoms and county-wide services.

The app, which can be accessed for free, is available to everyone who lives and works in Kent and Medway.

Named Health Help Now, the resource has been branded the “most detailed and sophisticated local NHS web-app in the country.”

Users can track symptoms and find the best place for treatment, as well as see which services are closest.

The new online service breaks down symptoms by age to make it easier for people to find the right treatment.

The new resource has been developed by medical professionals, from GPs, to paramedics.

Dr Chee Mah, urgent care leader for NHS South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said: “Health Help Now is a great resource, because it means that local people will be able to find the most appropriate help fast when they need it.

“We hope that people in Dover, Deal and Shepway will find the easy-to-use web app helps them to determine when to go to A&E, or go elsewhere.

“Around 40 per cent of people who attend A&E leave without any treatment at all."- Doctor Chee Mah

“So we hope that by using this web app, patients will know about other services that are better suited to their needs. This could save them a long wait in A&E and also take the relentless pressure off staff at A&E, especially over the busy winter period.

Health Help Now will also offer advice as well as links to other websites.

To access the app, visit: www.healthhelpnow-nhs.net.