Youth Forum

Would you like to give up some of your spare time to help patients at Sheffield Children’s Hospital?

If you’re aged 12-19 and have been to the hospital recently then we want to hear from you!

We’re looking for current and former patients and their brothers and sisters to join our new Youth Forum. We want to find out what you think about the hospital and how we can make it better for other young people.

The forum get together every six weeks to chat about issues at the hospital.

What do I get out of joining the forum?

• build your self confidence
• meet new people
• develop new skills
• improve your communication skills
• the knowledge that you’re trying to make things better for other young people

How do I become a member of the forum?

We just need a few details from you:

• name
• date of birth
• whether you are a patient/ex-patient/sibling
• a short paragraph explaining why you would like to join the group and what you can offer
• any areas that interest you specifically

Send this information by email to scn-tr.communications@nhs.net.

What we’ve been up to

Since the Youth Forum launched in June 2016 we’ve decided on ‘Youth Forum’ as our official name and have created our own strapline: “Voicing young people’s opinions to shape the hospital’s future”.

Members appoint a Chair every year. This year we have had Co-Chairs, Freya McKervey and George Marriott. A new chair will be elected in September 2019.”

We’ve been involved with lots of activities and projects at the Trust. This has included:

• carrying out ‘mystery shopping’ visits
• touring areas including pharmacy and research
• sitting on interview panels for senior staff
• carrying out inspections at the hospital and Ryegate Children’s Centre
• judging staff awards
• visiting the new wing before it opened to the public
• quizzing staff on issues that matter to young people, including décor and play
• quizzing the Chief Executive
• creating a Patient Charter
• developing an information guide to support the brothers and sisters of patients
• helping with the development of the Trust website, leaflets and posters

Watch this space for further updates!