Royal Greenwich Honours Young People For Helping Keep Services On Track

by our RBG Correspondent | Woolwich

* Cllr Gardner with some of the You're Welcome award recipients.
(Credit: RBG)

Young people in the Royal Borough of Greenwich who help to assess the quality of health and support services have been recognised at an awards ceremony.

Fifteen young people received awards at the fifth annual You’re Welcome awards last Friday (4 December). They were some of the 25 young people who assess youth health and support services in the borough by acting as mystery shoppers. The specially-trained assessors visit services to ensure they are accessible and young people friendly.

Services assessed by the young people include GP surgeries, sexual health services, children’s centres, pharmacies, school-based health centres and youth hubs. Representatives from some of the services assessed by the young people were also at the awards event.

In all, 85 locations across Royal Greenwich have been given You’re Welcome accreditation after inspections by young assessors – the highest number in London.

The team of assessors is made up of young people aged 14-22 who live or study in the Royal Borough. The young assessors receive training before visiting services, to see if they are meeting the You’re Welcome criteria. Those that meet the criteria receive the You’re Welcome award; where services don’t meet all the requirements, the young people make recommendations for improvements.

The role helps young people to gain self-confidence, increase their skills in communication and gives them the chance to shape the way services are delivered and evaluated. It’s also a way to make new friends, socialise and learn more about the borough that they live and/or study in.

During last week’s awards event, held at the Gallery in the Woolwich Centre, Cllr David Gardner (In Purple Tie above), Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Public Health, presented the awards.

Cllr Gardner said: “The contribution of young people is crucial to the success of the You’re Welcome programme. Their work makes a very real difference to the quality of services that are offered at health facilities and other outlets, and helps ensure that those services are young people friendly.”