Youth Forum member Ellie given national role
A Derbyshire Children’s Hospital patient is set to play a leading role in expressing what young people want from the NHS after securing a place on the National Youth Forum.
Ellie Richmond, 17, has been a member of Derby Teaching Hospital’s Youth Forum for just over a year and is one of just 25 young people from across the UK to have been offered a place.
The Trust’s Youth Forum meets every two months and gives patients aged between 11-18 the opportunity to socialise and talk about the services that are most important to them and what changes they’d like to be made.
Ellie joined the Youth Forum as she has a very severe form of Asthma and has always been in and out of hospital from a very young age.
She said: “I am very passionate about healthcare for young people. Being a member of the Youth Forum has really helped me decide on my future career – I would love to be a Doctor in Paediatrics. My friends at the Youth Forum are invaluable; they are going through a similar situation to me so it’s great that we can all support each other.”
Ellie’s role within the NHS National Youth Forum will involve working with Public Health England and NHS England to help shape the future of healthcare for children.
She explained: “I was really shocked when I was offered the role as there were over 100 applications but I feel very proud to be an ambassador for Derby Teaching Hospitals.”
Derby Teaching Hospitals Senior Youth Worker, Louise Melbourne, said: “Ellie is a key member of our Youth Forum. It has been great to see her grow in confidence and take an active role within the group and offer guidance to other members. We’re really proud of her achievement and look forward to her flying the flag for Derby! All of our young people are right behind her and supporting her every step of the way.”
Youth Worker Eleanor Gambini added: “The Youth Forum was set up to enable young people who access the hospital with health conditions to influence positive change and improve the patient experience. Having this opportunity is invaluable for our young people, it gives them the chance to have their say. Ellie has done this with great enthusiasm and the whole team is immensely proud of her.”