The need for Regional Youth Boards
Sophie Woods is one of our VIK in the North East and here she discusses why a Youth Board would be valuable and is needed in the North East region and beyond.
The Regional Youth Board concept was first developed in Birmingham. The young people who sit on that board have helped to revolutionise their CAMHS services and are an integral part to how it is run, how clinicians are recruited and how the system is structured. Following research in the North East around transition (the referral between CAMHS and adult services at the age of 18), the North East Mental Health Development Unit (NEMHDU) formed a steering group to consider whether the Youth Board idea has potential to have the same influence in the North East.
Over the past 4 months the Regional Youth Work Unit and YoungMinds have been working collaboratively with me as a young coordinator, to carry out research into the feasibility of developing a Youth Board which focuses on the development of mental health services. A questionnaire was developed, and distributed to young people within the region to find out where young people go to find services, and what they would ideally like to see in their area. Over 160 young people have responded from around the North East.
When asked where they would advise friends to go, the vast majority would suggest their doctor or GP which shows young people in the region are already aware of their pathway through services. However, when asked what services they wanted, there was a strong need expressed for a drop-in service situated in a popular location/town. Overall, there is a sense that young people in the North East feel a mental health youth board would be a good idea, and there are a variety of issues raised about what the young people could focus on. However, what needs to be ensured is that this Youth Board has the ability to influence decision-making within their area, for both statutory and voluntary services.
A set of recommendations have been made from this research, a primary one being that young people should be at the heart of improvements that are made to services. The Youth Board has the potential to maintain a consistent level of youth involvement throughout this. Furthermore, it is recommended that services work together, and that better partnerships are created between statutory and voluntary services, ensuring they fit young people, rather than young people fitting into a service as is felt to happen at the moment.
To look at a copy of the research report, please click Youth Board Report
