Ellie's blog

Yes it's me... the girl that wants to give young people a voice, stand up for the right for positive patient experiences and generally rule the world a bit!

OK, so I'm not quite there but I'd like to think I'm a little closer thanks to the last RCPCH event! How? Patients, parents and carers were given a voice! The fancy words being that we were engaged in a safe and meaningful way. Basically, we were given a platform to share our thoughts and tell the London Specialised Commissioning Group (LSCG) what we really thought about London Paediatric Tertiary Services!

On Monday 23 April Thines and I (pictured left), both members of the Youth Advisory Panel, helped to facilitate the event, which saw Barbara Howe and Professor Sir Alan Craft get grilled about the London Tertiary Paediatric Project.

The London Tertiary Paediatric Project is an exciting project set up following a review of London Tertiary Paediatric services – that’s services for babies, children and young people needing specialised healthcare in hospital.

• Alan is the clinical director for the project
• Barbara is the divisional director of LSCG who are running the project
• Bharti Mepani is leading the participation of young people, parents and carers, on behalf of RCPCH.

After Thines and I grilled Alan and Barbara about the project, its purpose and focus, we broke off into small groups of patients, parents and carers, and spoke about the key issues of the project. We were able to give a whole new perspective based on patient experience.

So, what did I think of the day? I loved it! Firstly, I'm a chatterbox, so I was in my element having the chance to speak about my passion of engaging patients in front a group of fifty people! It also really hit home that these commissioners were actually taking away with them what we were saying; it felt like we could really make a difference!

If I can say so myself, the day was a great success and thanks to Bharti for organising and running the event so well! From speaking to those that attended, everyone got a great deal out of it and can't wait to hear about the next steps of the project. I'll keep you posted on any developments, including a webpage about the project and how you can get involved...

Ellie x