Teenagers from the Central Bedfordshire Youth Parliament are hoping their social media skills can help keep pressure off local NHS services this winter.
Around 100 young people from communities across Central Bedfordshire have created a series of short videos for Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (BLMK ICB), using popular memes and trends to share winter health advice.
The clips will run on the ICB’s Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok feeds from December as part of the wider winter campaign for 2025/26, alongside more traditional messages.
NHS turns to teen creators
The videos encourage residents to use NHS 111 online for advice, make the most of Pharmacy First for minor illnesses and understand where to turn for help as demand rises over winter.
Maria Wogan, director of neighbourhood health and partnerships at BLMK ICB, said the Youth Parliament had brought a fresh approach to familiar winter messages.
“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 have 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 am 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 am 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,” she said.
Speaking to young people
Youth Parliament member Tommy Axe said the project was a chance for teenagers to speak directly to their own age group about using the NHS in the right way.
He said: “We were delighted to get involved in this project because young people often are not 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 is available.
“Hopefully, people will like the content we have created as much as we enjoyed making it. It has been a terrific experience to create messages with a client in mind, rather than just consuming them as most young people do.”
Real-world experience
Central Bedfordshire Council says the project is part of a wider push to give Youth Parliament members real-world experience alongside their representative role.
Cllr Steve Owen (Independent), 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 has 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 created by the Youth Parliament will appear across the BLMK ICB’s social media channels throughout winter:
