Children and young people experiences of services

Current Government concerns state that the voices of young people are not being heard1 . A previous report by Healthwatch Nottinghamshire (Talk to Me! Children and Young People’s Experiences of Health and Social Care in Nottinghamshire, 2015) found that children and young people wanted to be treated as an adult and have their health concerns taken seriously. Healthwatch Nottinghamshire wanted to know more about this and during August 2015, their Question of the Month was the first that has looked specifically at the experiences of children and young people. Healthwatch Nottinghamshire gathered views from local children and young people in person using a postcard at nine events across the county. Healthwatch Nottinghamshire had 197 responses from children and young people.

Healthwatch Nottinghamshire wanted to find out how much children and young people felt that the professionals providing their care services listened and talked to them. They found that overall, experiences were rated highly and that communication was central to this experience. Good communication featured in positive experiences and bad communication was identified in negative experiences. What is key is whether the communication of the care professional matched the expectations and needs of the patient. In some instances, the carer/parent of the patient was talked to more but this was good if it was what the patients wanted, but for many more they wanted the healthcare professional to speak directly with them.

The report contains 3 recommendations in relation to communication and information providing.