The challenges facing young people in the health system and potential remedies are aired by Youth Health Forum leaders in a new video released today.

The video features two young health leaders, Jasmine Elliott and Roxxanne MacDonald, explaining the challenges for young people in transitioning from child-centred to adult services.

They say a key challenge for young people is that “the current system is not designed for us”.

The video is based on the Youth Health Forum-commissioned report on Life Transitions and Youth Pathways to Health Services which revealed the significant barriers to services facing many young people, particularly those with chronic health conditions.

The report identified six key challenges for young people in health care including trusting health services, transitioning to adult care, delivering digital services and building more equitable services.

The report has made several recommendations for change including the introduction of nurse navigators to aid young people in identifying appropriate services, and the health concession cards to support young people aged 14 to 22 needing health services.

Roxxanne MacDonald, who is spokesperson for the Youth Health Forum, said: “As young people ourselves we know that implementing our recommendations will make a massive difference to young people's lives now, while also giving them support and knowledge that will help them be in control of their own healthcare in the future.” 

The video is the first in a series and further videos advocating for change are planned in coming weeks.

The earlier media release about the Transitions Report is here.

Media contact: Mark Metherell  0429111986