Yorkhill Children's Hospital

Ever had to spend time in hospital?

Just because you were not feeling well doesn't mean you didn't get bored.

In partnership with Yorkhill NHS Trust, Youth Services have a team of 4 dedicated youth workers in Yorkhill Hospital who are there to listen to, support and develop activities for you while you're in hospital.

Activities include:

• Zone 12 (Youth drop-in on Wednesday and Friday nights)
• Ward visits
• Youth booth (every Tuesday morning at the outpatients)
• Support to the Youth Voice Group (group of young people who aim to consult with young patients on how to improve adolescent care/services)
• Music therapy sessions

We have voices, area you listening?

Youth Voices is a group of dedicated young people based in the Glasgow Royal Hospital for sick children, for over four years.  Our aim is to do all that we can to make the hospital a better place for adolescents as currently the hospital is customised to suit the wants and needs of younger children.

In the past we have challenged the Chief Executive of the hospital with regard to trying to get a number of things changed, such as hospital policy regarding mobile phones.  We feel that the ability for patients to use mobile phones within the hospital is a basic right.  This has been considered by the group and we have advised on a policy to enable this right to be accessed by teenagers zone 12+ (the dedicated teenage area in the hospital).  Another example of a project we have been working on is the dreaded hospital food!  We have been talking with Management and the catering at the hospital to have changes made with regard to meal choice and aptly sized portions for teenagers, as dinosaur shaped nuggets aren't quite fitting!

So far no huge steps have been made, although we believe that Baguettes can now be ordered ahead each night.

The 'Menu' issue is a concern Youth Voices keeps at the forefront of our thinking.

There have been complaints made that some of the hospital staff also treat adolescents like children and this causes teenagers to feel patronised and uncomfortable within the hospital therefore causing havoc for the staff.

Despite all of our hard work there are some things like the food issues in the hospital that remain in a state of little change.  However we hope that in the near future teenagers will be able to watch television and enjoy lighting past 9pm, have their own baby free ward and bask in the right they have to a peaceful sympathetic stay at the hospital.  Yes, Yorkhill satisfies the rights of the child, but does it satisfy the rights of a teenager?

On the 20th of November Youth Voices got out our invitations and headed to the Scottish Parliament for an night of wining and buffet picking in celebration of the 18th anniversary of the rights of the child.  Many important people were there and whilst viewing the art work produced to communicate children's rights better we mingled with Kathleen Marshall, The Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People and various other people of power.  Hearing so much of children's rights and why they were established has helped Youth Voices realise that our job actually is to help enforce these rights that we have been given!

Youth Voices.