Latest Publicity on the Youth Health Initiative's Kings E.A.R. Project

Adolescent health: The emergency room
15/11/06 Young People Now

Young people either get placed with adults or children at accident and emergency departments. But one London hospital has set up a room where teenagers can speak to a youth worker. Andy Hillier reports.

The EAR, as it is more commonly known, is actually situated within the accident and emergency (A&E) department of King's College Hospital in Denmark Hill, south London.

The room was set up in March this year after the emergency department noticed an increase in the number of young people it was treating. Peter Thompson, consultant and clinical lead for paediatric emergency medicine, says: "When we looked at the figures we found that nearly 10,000 young people used our accident and emergency department last year. Some had self-harmed, others were using drugs and some were the victims of attacks."

But Thompson and some of his colleagues felt teenage patients were not very well catered for within A&E. The children's facilities offered by the department were often too childish for many of the young people and most weren't ready to use adult services.

So after going to the local primary care trust to see if funding could be made available, the room was set up and John Poyton, a youth worker at The Youth Health Initiative, was appointed.

Offer of support
"A lot of those who have been physically assaulted or subject to violence may just want to come and receive treatment and then go," says Poyton. "They might not think they need any follow-up support but we'll send them a text and give them the option."

The service also works closely with other agencies locally. For instance, if a young person is self-harming they can be referred to the child and adolescent mental health service located at the hospital. Young people who have been attacked can also be provided with advice about victim support services.

"We want the service to be as preventive as possible," says Poyton. "Once a teenager gets into a cycle of using drugs or self-harm it can be difficult to stop. But by linking them with other services and being a place where we can offer professional advice we can address that behaviour early on."

But just having a room where young people can hang out is equally as important as the follow-on services the hospital provides. Poyton says: "Hanging round for a couple of hours to be seen by a doctor or nurse can seem like an eternity to a young person, especially when they're feeling vulnerable. Having somewhere to play computer games or use the internet really helps take their mind off the pain."

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