Engaging with young people - Healthwatch Norfolk's Crucial Crew Project

Healthwatch Norfolk wanted to engage with children and young people under 15 as they heard very little from this age group. They were approached by the organisers of Norfolk Crucial Crew, a multi-agency education programme that works with Year Six pupils across the county, to promote personal safety and essential life skills. 

Healthwatch were invited to present at several of these events during the 2024/25 academic year. At these sessions, they delivered interactive presentations, centred around the message “Your voice counts”. They introduced Healthwatch Norfolk, explained their role, and highlighted why patient feedback, especially from younger people, is so important. The presentation included an engaging skit to help the children understand star ratings and recognise the types of things they might give feedback on. 

As part of each session, pupils were invited to complete a short feedback activity. This included providing star ratings for five common services they may have used: hospitals, GP surgeries, dentists, opticians and pharmacies. Additionally, Healthwatch asked them to provide a written response to the question “What is important for someone your age when you visit one of these services?”.  They heard from 3,426 children.

Our findings showed that hospitals received the highest proportion of positive ratings (4 or 5 stars) at 75%, closely followed by opticians at 74%. Pharmacies received the lowest proportion of positive ratings, at 56%. Analysis of the free text responses generated 20 categories, which were then grouped into three overarching themes: being treated well, a good environment and ensuring understanding. 

Being treated well reflected children’s desire for kind and friendly staff, to feel listened to and to not experience pain. A good environment encompassed shorter waiting times, access to distractions to reduce boredom and colourful, welcoming surroundings. Finally, ensuring understanding emphasised the importance of avoiding complex language, ensuring information is explained to children as well as adults and allowing children to have a trusted adult with them in appointments.