What is Child Health Promise?
A great part of working at a doctors’ surgery or hospital is looking for ways to make life better for our patients… that means you. Child Health Promise is a new way for doctors, nurses and the teams that work with them to tell each other about the ideas they’ve had, how they became successful projects, what worked and what didn’t work.
If someone has a great idea to make your life easier whenever you have to come to clinic or a hospital ward, have an x-ray or a physio appointment – we want everyone to hear about it. Basically we want to pinch each others’ ideas so that something good that’s happened in one place can happen all over the place. In the NHS we call this Quality Improvement – making things better.
How can I get involved?
If you’ve been to see your doctor or gone to hospital recently, you’ve might have come across a quality improvement project without even realising it. Some projects happen without young people and parents realising, or sometimes you might get a leaflet or see a poster telling you about new ideas that are being put into practice.
At the moment, projects on Child Health Promise can only be started by someone who works for the NHS. You might be asked to give your views about how the clinic or ward works for you. You might even be asked to get involved in a project to help other people with the same conditions as you. We know that many young people are health experts in the conditions that the have.
Amazing things happen when people work together
If you spot something smart already being done, let the staff know about Child Health Promise and ask if they’ve made a page for their project – you never know, there might be other people out there desperate for a good idea! If you have a good idea for something that would help you and your friends then talk to the healthcare person you usually see, and ask if they’re up for getting involved.
How can I stay safe?
You have probably heard a lot about saying safe online because it’s so important.
If you are asked to take part in any Child Health Promise projects, it should only be with an NHS doctor, nurse or someone who works within their team. Your parents should be asked, and if they’re not happy then you won’t be able to take part. Your personal details like your full name, email address or telephone number should not be part of the project page here or anywhere else. Photos should only be taken if your parents are happy.
If you want to find out more about staying safe online, you can look at this Childline page.