Celebrating an amazing year of collaboration
It was celebration time, as young people joined NHFT colleagues for a birthday party to mark a fantastic year of collaboration.
The Youth Advisory Board (YAB), part of Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s Participation and Coproduction Team, enjoyed its first birthday with a party at Newland House, in Northampton, with a fantastic attendance from young people from the Participation and Coproduction network and senior professionals.
Over the past 12 months, young people and professionals have joined forces to create the Youth Advisory Board, which has woven a tapestry of achievement, founded on the principle of co-production. Around 100 young people and 60 parent / carers / supports are currently signed up to the network.
At the heart of this celebration lies a resounding shout-out to the young advisors and young co-creators who have made this journey such a success. With their energy and determination, they have contributed fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and a passion for making positive differences. Their commitment has ignited a change that amplifies the importance of involving youth voice in shaping our health services and practices that directly impact their lives.
The birthday celebration was an opportunity for guests to hear personal journeys from young people who had been involved with the Participation and Coproduction Team and the benefits and improvements it has brought to their lives. It was also a time to thank all those who have helped make the Youth Advisory Board such a success over the past year, recognising this journey is not just about the past year, but also the years to come.
Georgie Lomas, Participation and Coproduction Lead for the team, said “The birthday was such a fantastic event and opportunity to celebrate all the hard work and dedication of our young people who have been involved in having a say on developing and improving our health and wellbeing services. It was great to be able to thank everyone who has been involved, making the differences not only for themselves but for other young people in the future. We really couldn’t do it without all the young people that come along, and it really was a time to highlight the difference it makes to young people’s lives in Northamptonshire.”
The team has a commitment to grow, promote and embed a genuine culture of coproduction to which positive change will take place throughout the Children and Young People’s directorate.
The Participation and Coproduction Team are the enablers for young people, parents, carers, and supporters to be involved and ensure they have a say about improving and helping to evolve our NHFT services through various activities and recruitment processes.
It aims to be inclusive of the differing needs of young people, parents, and carers to ensure everyone can take part in all areas of Participation, Involvement & Coproduction. Opportunities can be flexible with how young people want to be involved and how they work with the service to meet its needs.
An important on-going ambition for participation and coproduction is for this to reflect the diversity that is representative of the local population of Northamptonshire using NHFT’s children and young people’s services. Significant strides have already been made in this direction and this was also showcased.
Find out more at www.nhft.nhs.uk/participation
Pictured: (l-r) Tyrese Cuffy Smith, Jo Fletcher, Julie Shepherd, Georgie Lomas, Ellie Rosser, Sky Davy-Clark, and Barry Day