Our Rights, Our Voice’: Workshop on NHS Constitution for people aged 16-25

Healthwatch Brighton and Hove delivered two workshops in 2015 for young people aged 16 to 25 with mental health needs to improve awareness of the NHS Constitution and patients’ rights. The workshops involved seven young people, including mental health service users, carers and young people with disabilities, and explored experiences of accessing healthcare, making decisions about care, complaints, transitions between services and involvement in service improvement. Overall, participants felt young people knew very little about their rights within the NHS and were often unaware of how to raise concerns or influence services.

A major theme was dissatisfaction with mental health services and wider healthcare systems. Participants felt mental health was not treated equally to physical health, reported difficulties accessing appropriate support and described problems transitioning between different services. Many believed mental health services were difficult to navigate, lacked effective promotion and often failed to intervene early enough. Young people also expressed frustration about limited choice of healthcare professionals and inconsistent access to different types of therapy.

Young people frequently spoke about not feeling listened to and lacking confidence in complaints processes. Many were reluctant to complain because they feared it could affect their care or believed their concerns would not be taken seriously. Participants also highlighted problems around confidentiality, consent and communication, particularly when parents or carers were involved and professionals spoke about them rather than directly to them. Several examples were shared of poor communication, delayed referrals and difficulties obtaining appointments. 

The workshops found that increasing awareness of rights, complaints procedures and available support services could help young people feel more confident and empowered when using healthcare services. Participants valued learning more about the NHS Constitution and local support organisations, and Healthwatch concluded that further work was needed to improve awareness of rights, reduce stigma around mental health, strengthen young people’s involvement in decisions about their care and make information about services more accessible and understandable.