You're Welcome

Introduction

You're Welcome is national quality framework, designed to support providers of health services to improve their service and be more young-people friendly. The You're Welcome quality mark is open to all health, local authority, community, voluntary and private organisations that provide a health service to young people.

The vision is to increase young people's awareness and access to the highest quality confidential services. Health outcomes for young people are not improving at the expected rate. Teenage years are a critical time for adopting positive health behaviours and young people tell us that they find it difficult to access our services because they do not meet their needs.

Quality framework

You're Welcome is the result of evidenced-based work with young people to identify and address the barriers that prevent them accessing health services. It is important that NHS, private and voluntary sector services take young people's needs into account.

The ten areas of the framework are:
 Access
 Publicity
 Confidentiality and consent
 Environment
 Staff training, skills, attitudes and values
 Joined up working
 Monitoring and evaluation and involvement of young people
 Health issues for young people
 Sexual and reproductive health services
 Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)

To enable services to assess whether they are delivering young-people friendly services a self assessment toolkit has been developed. The toolkit is an improvement tool designed to help you identify the areas where your service could be improved and better engage with young people to take their views and opinions into account, including the more marginalised groups in the community.

Within Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR), the approach taken has been to use the toolkit as a leaver for change rather than as an application for accreditation.

Benefits

There are many benefits for services taking part in the You're Welcome accreditation including; safeguarding, engagement with young people, improved access to the service and therefore improved health outcomes for young people. The You're Welcome quality criteria contribute to the following national indicators and vital signs:

Effectiveness of CAMHS services (NI 51)
Services for disabled children (NI 54)
Obesity (NI 55/NI 56)
Emotional and behavioural health of looked after children (NI 58)
Young people's participation in positive activities (NI 110)
Prevalence of chlamydia (NI 113)
Substance misuse by young people (NI 115)
Under 18 conception rate (NI 112)
Smoking (NI 123)
Self reported experience of patients and users

Services that offer health care to young people between the ages of 11 and 19 have been contacted and informed of the YW accreditation tool. These include health centres, local authority clinics, Connexions, school health services, G.P. practices and pharmacies. Those services that have expressed an interest have been supported to complete the self assessment toolkit and develop an action plan of areas for improvement. Support has been given by the coordinator to develop policies, update user information and engage with young people using the service.

Services across LLR that have been working through the criteria are able to evidence improvements since applying the toolkit and identifying actions. These include improving access to both male and female users resulting in an almost 50:50 gender split in relation to access. Services are also recording a drop in conception rates amongst young people and an increase in involvement in managing their long term conditions.

Accreditations:

Recently 5 services have completed the You're Welcome quality accreditaion and are now officially 'Young People Friendly'. The services are:

Ashby Community College
Lutterworth College
Oadby Beauchamp College
Lutterworth School
Loughborough Safer Sex Project

There are many services registered for You're Welcome for the next round of accreditations in the summer time, if you are interested and would like a visit from Carmen Jenkins to discus further, please call Carmen on 01509 567748.

Support for You're Welcome

If you would like more information or support to work through the self assessment toolkit, please contact:

Carmen Jenkins.
You're Welcome Co-ordinator

PCT Offices
55-56 Woodgate
Loughborough
Leicestershire
LE11 2TZ

Tel: 01509 567748

Email- Carmen.jenkins@lcr.nhs.uk