Young people are helping shape The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), offering their perspectives on great care and ensuring the hospital is responsive to their needs.
The RCH Youth Advisory Council, more informally known as the Youth @ the Kids (Y@K) represents youth voice and aims to improve the hospital experience for all children and young people. Membership is open to all patients, former patients and their siblings and friends aged between 12 and 25.
“It’s an opportunity for young people to come together and share their experiences, ideas and opinions with RCH staff,” Youth Peer Worker Jordan Hammond said. “This year we have seen a huge increase in our steady ‘core’ group. In previous years there have been about six or seven core people involved, but this year we have had 20 people regularly participating in the meetings.”
In 2013/14 the Y@K have been consulted on various hospital projects; including on the new out-patient queue management system, the Arts at Royal Children’s Hospital program and the organisation’s social media policy.
“It was really important for the Y@K to be involved in shaping the hospital’s social media activities,” Jordan said. “Social media is a way in which young people can connect with their friends and family, especially if they are an in-patient for a long period of time.”
The Council has also been involved in a food quality survey, contributed to the development of the Learning Portal in the Kelpie Adolescent Ward and consulted with the Adolescent Friendly Children’s Hospital Steering Committee.
“The Committee has asked the YAK to garner broader opinion from young people across the hospital. They are going to film a video of young people in the hospital, talking about their experiences and the adolescent-friendliness of the spaces in the campus, in particular the out-patients areas,” Jordan explained.
“The hospital isn’t just for young children, it’s for adolescents as well,” Y@K Co-Chair Brooke Dance said. “It’s important for us to work with clinicians and staff, and let them know that we understand what our health care involves and we would like to be involved in it.”
“The Y@K gives youth an outlet to take more responsibility for our own health and healthcare environment. It means that we can impact the hospital directly, and the patients within,” Y@K Co-Chair Derek Huang added.
“There are always conversations and decisions being made to improve quality of care at the RCH, the YAK allows young people to join the conversation, have a say in great care, and what it means to them,” Jordan said.
This article originally appeared in the RCH 2013-14 Quality of Care report, find it here.