Members of our Committee were invited by Suffolk Youth forum to attend and speak at the Health & Wellbeing Board meeting on 16th January.
Lila, Rosa and Nathaniel volunteered to attend to represent Young Carers and Young Adult Carers across the county. We arrived at Endeavour House in Ipswich and were welcomed into ‘the clamber’ by members of the Board.
We asked the Board to consider and help to influence the following:
For Health professionals to acknowledge the role of the Young Carer/Young Adult Carer. To Ask the right questions:
If you are providing health care to an adult please ASK:
- Are you a parent? Does your illness/health affect how you look after your child?
- Who supports your health and wellbeing when you are at home?
If you meet a Young Carer/Young Adult carer, please ASK:
- Are you ok?
- Is there anything you want to share with me about the care you are providing?
- Is there any help that you need?
We ASKED:
Health services to introduce a coding system so that a Young Carer/Young Adult Carer status is flagged up during medical appointments. This would be an important step forward because if gone unnoticed, the health and wellbeing of a Young Carer/Young Adult Carer can be impacted by their caring role. Knowing the person has a caring role, gives the health professional a better understanding of the patient in front of them.
Rosa, Nathaniel and Lila spoke with County Councillor Bobby Bennett, Cabinet member for Children and Young People’s Services who shared that she understood that ‘being heard as a Young carer must be particularly challenging’ and the lived experiences shared by members of our committee really resonated with her.
Stuart Keeble, Director of Public Health and Communities asked the Committee how the Board gets better at working with young people. He felt lived experiences really help and is enthusiastic to explore how we can capture the stories.
The meeting closed with the action the Board need to ensure the young people receive feedback on the ASKS, to be updated on what the Board have been able to do.
Rosa, Nathaniel and Lila represented Young Carers and Young Adult Carers exceptionally well as it was very daunting speaking in front of a room of professionals. If you have any questions for them or want to learn more about how you can get involved or work with the committee, please do get in touch.
