Young Listeners
“If you want to know what we think, you just have to ask.”
“If we really want to see the outcomes for all of our children improve, we know that we will do that much more effectively by working every day in co-production with our children and young people and their families.”
Theresa Leavy Executive Director for Children’s Services at Dorset Council
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Tell us about a recent experience
Making health and care better for young people
We gave young people in Dorset the opportunity to directly influence improvements in the health and social care services they use.
Young Listeners project
Between January and May 2021, we recruited and trained a group of young volunteers aged 16-23 to become Young Listeners. They designed and delivered a peer-to-peer engagement project to explore the issues that are important to young people. In June and July 2021, they met and ‘listened’ to 70 young people from across Dorset and recorded their health and care experiences and feedback.
What did they hear?
They heard about the barriers and challenges young people face when seeking care and support, and the changes they want to see to make services work better for young people.
They identified key themes and made recommendations and practical suggestions to help those responsible for Dorset’s health and care services address young people’s needs and concerns.
The key messages identified were:
Listen to young people and act on what you hear.
Communicate better, with young people and each other.
Improve how care is coordinated.
“My needs weren’t considered at all. I didn’t feel listened to.” | “This (repetition) is an uncomfortable experience as I realise that people can’t relate to my story.” | “Everyone you are dealing with suddenly changes but your needs haven’t.”
Read our report
Find out more about the project and how young people want services to change and improve: Young Listeners Project – Bringing positive change to young people’s health and care services in Dorset. (November 2021)
Watch our videos
See our Young Listeners talking about why young people want health and social care services to listen more, communicate better, and coordinate their care.
Share the link: vimeo.com/644718072
In this short film, Young Listeners Mille and Jess talk about what they learned during the project and how they made a difference by talking to young people about their health and social care experiences. Share the link: vimeo.com/580306564