During their induction in October 2020, the newly formed Forum met with key contacts at NHS England to hear about the current priorities that they can engage with. The Forum then trained to develop their digital and leadership skills. The training ensured that they could confidently advocate for young people across England, and create positive change for young people’s health services.
Following the induction, the group split into three work streams to focus on improving services for young people in the following areas:
– Health Inequalities in Minority Groups
– Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Long Term Conditions (LTC)
– Trans and Non-Binary Access to Healthcare
Over the course of the year each work stream consulted young people with living experience of these issues, and have worked to create resources, reports, and a roundtable to share their findings.
Below you will find a summary of each project and a link to their reports and resources.
Health Inequalities for Minority Groups:
This group is aiming to improve Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) young people’s experiences in healthcare. To do this, the group decided to specifically focus on identifying the learning gaps that are currently missing from medical students’ education across England. They went on to consult young medical students on their academic experiences on cultural and racial health inequalities and created a report to share with curriculum decision makers in medical schools and institutions.
Download a copy of the NHS Youth Forum ‘Health Inequalities Project’ report.
Special Educational Needs & Disabilities and Long-Term Conditions
The aim of this group is to improve the school and educational experience for young people with special educational needs & disabilities and/or long term conditions. They have worked to create a report aimed at teachers to improve their understanding, and help inform their future delivery. To aid in creating this resource, they consulted young people with special educational needs & disabilities and/or long term conditions to better understand the different experiences. Their final report provides a breakdown of what young people with special educational needs & disabilities and/or long term conditions would like their teachers to know and how this can better inform their teaching methods.
Download a copy of the NHS Youth Forum ‘No one feels worse about my condition than me’ report.
You can find an accessible video version of the report here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/olmkj2bebpzx54a/AAD8oOipKREW49c3n2MdfLSFa?dl=0
Trans and Non-Binary Access to Healthcare
This group is aiming is to improve access to healthcare for trans and non-binary young people across England. After researching what barriers are currently in place, the group recognised that young trans and non-binary people often find difficulty communicating with healthcare professionals, when discussing their experience. To improve this, the group have created a resource that will provide trans and non-binary young people with tools to advocate for themselves when meeting with a health care professional.
Download a copy of the NHS Youth Forum ‘Your Rights When Accessing Healthcare’ report.
If you have any questions about this work, please don’t hesitate to contact us at NHSYouthForum@byc.org.uk
