South of Tyne and Wear NHS Improving General

South of Tyne and Wear NHS Improving General Practice for Young People Washington Galleries Surgeries Encompass Healthcare and Investing in Children The story so far…

• The project started in the summer of 2011 and was initially funded by South of Tyne and Wear PCT. • Investing in Children were commissioned to support a small number of local GP practices to look at engaging their young patients with the aim of improving the service they provide. • The Galleries surgeries and several stand alone surgeries in Sunderland came forward and the work began with a series of agenda days. • The work continued by setting up a ‘user’ group – called “Teen Talk” in Washington. The groups met with surgery staff to look at the best way forward.

What the young people said We want to know: • how to make appointments • what we can see a doctor for We want: • to be treated the same as adults, • to be spoken to (not our parents) • to be able to talk to doctors and surgery staff, and be made to feel comfortable doing that.

• We said the waiting area can sometimes put you off… We suggested a young people’s area……. . with information we would want…. (The staff were surprised it wasn’t all about sexual health!) • The surgeries thought we would want a special time, like a drop-in for young people, when we could come to see a doctor or nurse… We told them we don’t need special services we just want to be treat the same as adults.

• We want clear information so we feel we know what we are doing… We think leaflets and info packs sent from your doctor would help. • We also think that PSHE lessons at school should have more about health and what you need to know about going to the doctors including your rights… This should be delivered by people who know about health and health care not teachers who don’t!

PSHE The idea of health related PSHE sessions delivered by trained healthcare staff including GPs was one of the suggestions we decided to explore. In the summer of 2012 The Washington Galleries surgeries worked with Investing in Children and most importantly the young patient group ‘Teen Talk’ to develop a PSHE session.

PSHE It was designed with the aim of better informing young people about health related issues and in particular and how and when they can access their local GP services. We piloted the planned session with a local school where the feedback from both pupils and staff was really positive.

The Lesson Timing Activity Leader Resources 3 mins Introductions MM 4 mins Powerpoint presentation of work to date YP Lap top, screen (pre-saved presentation) 3 mins Questions for the box YP Slips of paper, pens and covered box 12 mins Body Maps – 2 groups GP & Nurse with YP Body maps, sticky notes and pens 6 mins Feedback and discussions around body maps GP and Nurse Body Maps with added sticky notes 8 mins DVD role play and group discussion (focus on making appointments, why you might want to make your own appointment & if/when you can) Surgery staff Laptop, screen, (pre-saved DVD clip) 12 mins ‘At what age? ’ MM and YP Cards 12 mins Q&A session – using questions from box and taking any other questions Surgery staff Box of questions 2 mins Hand out wordsearches and practice leaflets at end of session whilst yp are leaving YP and surgery staff

Questions for the box What’s the difference between doctors and nurses? staff n io t p e c e r hat do the do? W Would you turn me wa y if I turned up by myself? Is it normal to be on your period every 2 weeks? stions e u q r e w s an Can they not you s it if r Why whe e c n you go about can e ’r u o with an ad y t u t b h e it y s t a a h lk ult do o to them a wh n d not you? worried? Can I completely trust my doctor? ow nd h a s erpe t? h s i i t Wha ou catch y can

Body Map Depression ADHD Strokes Stress Eczema Headaches Alcohol Self harm Acne Asthma Diabetes Being gay Period pains Herpes Chlamydia AIDS Cheesy feet Backache Knee pain Ingrowing toe nails Diarrhoea

The DVD This prompted further discussion re: confidentiality and competency

At what age should you be able to…. . ? • Decide what you eat • Get a tattoo • Travel on your own by bus • Choose which school you go to • Decide what time you go to bed • Get pocket money Age brackets: 0 -5, 5 -10, 10 -16, 16 -18

Results Prior to attending the sessions: 39 completed surveys were returned Only 5 (12. 8%) young people knew about patient confidentiality and had an idea of ‘competency’ as a tool for young people accessing GP services rather than using age to allow access to seeing a doctor alone.

Results After the session: 74 young people completed the surveys 65 (87. 8%) young people understood that they have the right to see a doctor alone and to patient confidentiality. They wrote explanations of what confidentiality and competency means “When you can display you are emotionally ready and responsible enough to act on what the doctor tells you. ”

What else have we done? • Developed practice leaflets tailored to young people and designed alongside them. • Developed more general leaflets about general practice and also a leaflets for parents about why we see young people on their own. (in association with Washington MIND) • With involvement from Teen Talk we held a local education event for all practice staff. • Tried to make the waiting area more young people friendly.

The Future • Following the success of the three pilot PSHE days held in Oxclose Community Academy school in Washington further funding has been secured from CCG innovations monies. • With the further funding we aim to deliver similar sessions to two other local schools with the hope of further expanding this programme.

GP Champions • Aim to improve health and well being services to young people in Washington. • For GPs and MIND to work closer together to achieve this aim: recognising that physical and mental health are intertwined- both being vital for the well being of a young person.

What we’ve achieved so far Education: – We delivered a 2 hour education session to GPs in Washington. – Involved in a short session on young peoples health for all Sunderland GPs. – Developed leaflets for local GPs to encourage them to think about young peoples health and rights.

Video MIND have been making videos for young people with various professionals being interviewed by a young volunteer. We have made one using a GP (me!)

Survey MIND have a new building We are using the opportunity to find out what services they would like in it – evidence shows that if young people are involved in service design the result is better designed services and a better value for investment.

The challenge So- are we listening to our young people? They have a lot to ask us and a lot to tell us too!