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NHS Choices and NHS Lincolnshire have launched a mobile texting service to deliver instant information on waiting times in A&E departments and a tool about getting the right treatment in the right place.

The free mobile service means users who send a text message to a dedicated number containing the word WAITING will receive the latest waiting times at A&E departments in three local hospitals and the walk-in centre.

The desktop widget, created by NHS Lincolnshire and NHS Choices, provides guidance about getting the right treatment in the Lincolnshire area depending on the health concern and also displays real-time waiting times in the same way as the text service. NHS Lincolnshire said it was the first tool of its kind in the UK.

NHS Lincolnshire is now urging all its residents, particularly students and those care for vulnerable elderly or young children, to download the widget and save the waiting times number to their mobile phones.

The widget can be downloaded from the hospital website www.ulh.nhs.uk and the PCT’s website.