It’s destination Bradford City Football Club on the 15th October as local NHS health providers, commissioners and the voluntary sector, team up to help young people on their health care journey. Your Future, Your Health is a free one day event, expected to welcome 500 young visitors.

On the day, each young person will receive a Health passport and be challenged to collect ‘info zone’ stamps from a range of info zones. In each zone experts from Airedale and Bradford Hospitals, Bradford District Care Trust’s community health teams, the Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), Yorkshire Ambulance Service, Barnardo’s and the Bradford Youth Development Partnership will be on hand to offer tips and advice. Zones include: Careers, Let’s Keep Healthy, Let’s Get Involved, and Let’s Stay Active and tackle issues such as emotional health and wellbeing, sexual health and relationships, drugs awareness, the effects of smoking and drinking and NHS careers. There will be CPR demos, and games taking place and rap and graffiti artists on hand to develop works based on young people’s views of healthcare.

Top bosses from across local NHS services will take part in two ‘Question Time’ panels. Young people will have the opportunity to talk directly with the Chief Executives and Chairs of the District’s main healthcare organisations about their health and well-being priorities and what they would focus on if they were in charge.

Paul Hogg, Project Lead said: “We wanted to give young people an opportunity to voice their opinions on healthcare and have access to credible advice on issues that may affect them.  Some young people will leave thinking about a career in the NHS, or about becoming a volunteer or trust member. Others will leave with free, confidential advice to help them stay active, healthy and safe. It’s the first ever joint event of its kind locally, so as partners we’ll be interested in the feedback we receive. Our goal is to get young people actively involved in their own healthy futures. “

The local CCGs: NHS Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven, NHS Bradford City, and NHS Bradford Districts are keen to use the event to get young people interested and involved in shaping local health services.

Max Mclean, lay member for patient and public involvement at Bradford City CCG: “Bradford will be the youngest city in Europe in five years, so engaging and involving young people is a real priority for us. This is a great opportunity for us all to understand young people’s views on health services in the district, and we really hope they’ll continue to share their experiences and ideas after the event.”

Your Future, Your Health is open to young people aged between 14 and 18 from Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven. Invitations have been sent to local schools and colleges and through some child related health services.  Places are free, but need to be booked in advance.  If you’d like further information on attending please call:  01274 228293 or email debbie.daniel@bdct.nhs.uk     

ENDS

Notes to editors:

  • Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust  provides community health, mental health and specialist learning disabilities services for people across the Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven districts.
  • Airedale NHS Foundation Trust provides personalised, acute, elective, specialist and community care for a population of over 200,000 people from a widespread area covering West and North Yorkshire and East Lancashire.
  • Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: runs the Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke’s Hospital. It also manages  four local community hospitals at Westwood Park, Westbourne Green, Shipley and Eccleshill, GPs with a special interest in gynaecology and urology, and services for stroke, TIA, heart failure, cardiac rehabilitation, diabetes, Parkinson’s and haemoglobinopathy.
  • NHS Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven, NHS Bradford City and NHS Bradford Districts clinical commissioning groups (CCGs): plan, buy and monitor local health services. Launched in April 2013, the CCGs, which are GP member organisations, are part of an NHS plan to give local doctors and people more say in organising their own health services.
  • Barnardo’s works with 240,000 children, young people and families across the UK in 960 services
  • Bradford Youth Development Partnership (BYDP) work with young people aged 8–30 years across the Bradford District and Northern England. BYDP is a fun and creative organisation, always at the forefront developing new projects and partnerships. BYDP has been positively impacting on young people since 1999.
  • Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust provides 24-hour emergency and healthcare services to a population of more than five million across Yorkshire and the Humber. This includes responding to 999 calls, running a non-emergency patient transport service and providing the region’s NHS 111 urgent medical help and advice line.