27 May 2009
Epsom and St Helier hospitals have joined the latest online craze by signing up to the social networking site, Twitter.
The Trust opened a page on the microblog site - which allows members to post short updates about their latest news - to keep local people up-to-date on all the recent happenings at the hospitals.
Alex Schleif, the Trust's Web Manager, said: "We know that people are interested in the latest news and events from the Trust, and following us on Twitter is the perfect way to get up to the minute updates.
"Messages on Twitter are short, to the point and really help busy people to stay well connected. The great thing is that if you see something on our Twitter feed that you want to know more about, you can visit our new website for more information."
Most Twitter messages will link straight to the Trust's website at www.epsom-sthelier.nhs.uk. The site, which was re-launched in February, attracts between 800 and 900 visitors every weekday, generating around 4,000 page views per day.
Alex added: "We're very excited about joining Twitter - it's a simple and time effective way of getting our news out into the local community, and we hope that people in the area won't hesitate to join up and follow us."
You can follow the Trust at http://twitter.com/epsom_sthelier.
Our Twitter feed includes our latest news and press releases, upcoming events and messages from the Trust.
What is Twitter?
Twitter is a free 'microblog' that allows people and organisations to let others know what they're up to. Microblogging involves short online updates, known as tweets, of just 140 characters or less.
Twitter is a micro-blogging sensation - everyone from US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, to actor Stephen Fry and singer Britney Spears, to local MPs, staff in NHS trusts and kids on the street are using it. The site was launched in 2006 and is used by more than seven million people around the world. The number of British users rose from 100,000 in February 2008 to 1.8 million last month.
According to Hitwise, a company which tracks web audiences, Twitter entered the UK's 100 most popular websites in March 2009. Now ranking at number 44, it receives more traffic than most of the national newspapers' homepages.
For more about Twitter, visit: http://twitter.com/about
