The NHS Goes Gaming – Checkurself!

Looks like our beloved National Health Service has come over all hip and down wid da cool kidz. Or they’re trying to anyway. The NHS has teamed up with MochiMedia and launched an online flash game to promote STD awareness by shooting chlamydia-carrying rabbits as they shag their way around the mean back streets of the inner city. Fo’ shizzle.

No, seriously. Look at it!

That poor little white bunny on top of the pink one? If you don’t shoot the pink one, he’ll turn pink too and go hopping away to infect another rabbit. BAD unprotected bunnies!

I suppose at 60+ years old, it is time for the NHS to start acknowledging the internet. Both NHS London and Healthcare for London have been on Twitter for some time now. Hell, the wonderfully catchy NHS Commissioning Support for London has a Facebook page. We’ll see how long this strategy lasts with the Coalition, hey? (HfL on Twitter, NHS London on Twitter)

Do you have a burning desire to shoot rabbits with doxycycline? Get over to check urself to cure the hapless rabbits and learn a little something about disease vectors!

For the record, some form of chlamydia can actually cause respiratory problems in rabbits though I have no data on whether or not it’s transmissible to humans. Given that the identifying characteristic of STDs is that they’re not airborne, I’m not sure I want to think about how…

What do you think? Is it good to see the NHS engaging in Facebook, Twitter and gaming or should they GTFO and stick to treating sick people?