NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board

Stroud District Youth Council (SDYC) have a long association with the NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, particularly when it was referred to (pre 2022) as the NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group.

Much of the work has been that of a consultative nature, whereby members of SDYC have both participated in consultation programmes led by the NHS on young peoples health and wellbeing matters, as well as specific ongoing work with health professionals on mental health and emotional wellbeing projects. Such projects typically include, that of designing the ‘On Your Mind’ website, forming a youth panel for the commissioning of mental health support services, and evaluating a range of services for young people.

Between 2018 and the early part of 2020, SDYC designed and produced (with support from the Stroud and Berkeley Vale Locality Partnership) a successful pilot initiative titled the, ‘Youth Friendly GP Surgeries Initiative’. This was created in response to young people saying to SDYC members, that many of their experiences of using GP services was not what they needed. The youth-led initiative, designed to improve service standards through better understanding of young people’s needs, featured a 60 point (non-clinical) assessment of local GP surgeries by SDYC members and included their visit to respective venues and meetings with practice managers. Each practice would receive a bespoke report, featuring recommendations and accolades, including an award status that would remain for a set time period.

Whilst the roll-out of the Youth Friendly GP Surgeries Initiative was put on-hold at the outbreak of the covid pandemic, it remains an important project that SDYC wish to pursue in the future.