Youth Parliament Members urge NHS Board to innovate and prevent illness

Young voices took centre stage at the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (BLMK ICB) meeting on 21 March, as members of the Central Bedfordshire Youth Parliament shared key insights from the System Insight Network, which was held in January and focused on Government’s Change NHS consultation.

Addressing senior health leaders, the young representatives emphasised the importance of engaging young people in conversations about their health and need for the NHS App to evolve in a way that truly engages younger users.

They called for the integration of gamification tools to ensure the NHS App is accessible to young people and called for greater involvement of health and care professionals in education in schools.

Adrian Szyja from Vandyke Upper School in Leighton  Buzzard said: “The NHS App needs to innovate to prevent it from being just another parent app. To engage young people and prevent illness, we need gamification tools to be added – to make it fun to manage your health”.

Harry White from Bedford Modern school said: “AI is the future of health care and it would be great to see how this is being applied. Young people have a voice, and we’d be keen to work with health and care professionals to make sure young people’s voices are considered when applying artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance online diagnosis and support early disease prevention.”

Olivia Morris from Sandy Secondary School said: “It was great to attend the System Insight Network meeting in January to share our views on the future of health and care services, and to share our insights with the Board. It’s important that the views of Youth Parliament members are heard, but it’s never been more important to extend that engagement and hear the voices of more and more young people in decision making.”

Felicity Cox, Chief Executive of BLMK ICB, welcomed the youth representatives and reinforced the importance of ensuring that their perspectives help shape the future of healthcare.

“Hearing directly from young people is essential to designing a health and care system that meets their needs. Their insights challenge us to think differently and embrace innovation in ways that can truly make a difference. We are committed to ensuring that their voices continue to be heard and acted upon.”

Joe Harrison Chief Executive of Milton Keynes Hospital and National Director of the NHS App acknowledged the importance of their recommendations and committed to taking their ideas forward at the national level.

“The perspectives shared today by members of the Youth Parliament highlight the real need for digital healthcare solutions that work for all generations. I will be taking these insights back to central government as part of our commitment to supporting the NHS’s 10-year plan, ensuring that the NHS App evolves to serve young people effectively.”

The engagement between young people and healthcare leaders marks a significant step towards a more inclusive and forward-thinking NHS, ensuring that digital innovation remains at the heart of future developments.