Wirral Autistic Society’s Children and Family Service have been recognised as Young People Friendly by the Department of Health’s Livewell team.
Chloe Jones (Resource & Referral Co-ordinator, Children and Family Service) and Natalie Johnston (Senior Health Advisor NHS)
The Livewell team work with local organisations and healthcare services to deliver the Department of Health’s You’re Welcome programme on a local level. Wirral’s Young People Friendly programme was developed as a result of young people identifying and addressing the barriers that prevent them from accessing healthcare services. It supports organisations and health service providers to improve their services and be more Young People Friendly and has also been credited for improving services in both hospital and community settings for young people with life long conditions such as diabetes.
Natalie Johnston (Senior Health Advisor NHS), said “The Children and Family Service work towards this accreditation was outstanding and ‘one of the best’ and they are one of a select few that have achieved this with such high standards, the team has done an amazing job in achieving this accreditation!”
How does it work?
To achieve Young People Friendly status organisations and healthcare services evaluate their service by working through eight topic areas which are relevant to all healthcare providers in general practice, community and acute settings.
Topic areas include:
- Accessibility
- Publicity
- Confidentiality and consent
- Environment
- Staff training, skills, attitudes and values
- Joined-up working
- Young people’s involvement in monitoring and evaluation of patient experience
- Health issues for young people
Trish Barnes (Healthy Settings Programme Manager, Wirral Community NHS Trust) said “The Children and Family Service have great expertise, knowledge and support for both young people and other professionals about autism and social communication difficulies.”
Chloe Jones (Children and Family Services) said, “We are delighted to be recognised with this accreditation and look forward to further work with young people and professionals and helping them break down the barriers to healthcare services.”
Further information about our Children and Family Service can be found here.
