Children and young people’s consultation update
Friday 26 March 2010
The National Children's Strategy 2000 – 2010 is a 10-year plan with a vision of:
"An Ireland where children are respected as young citizens with a valued contribution to make and a voice of their own; where all children are cherished and supported by family and the wider society; where they enjoy a fulfilling childhood and realise their potential." (Taken from the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs)
The new children’s hospital provides an ideal opportunity for promoting the participation of those who already use or may in the future use this healthcare service. The Development Board is committed to ensuring that the rights and views of children, young people, their families and carer’s are embedded into the planning, design, construction and operating principles of the new children’s hospital and Ambulatory and Urgent Care Centre.
Based on international best practice the Development Board have already put in place structures for consulting with children and young people and their families namely;
- National Consultation Days held in December 2009 for children and young people aged between eight and eighteen years
- Consultation with children aged between five and eight years,
- A Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) for young people aged between twelve and eighteen years
- A Family Forum (FF) consisting of parents of children and young people who have received care over a lengthy period in the children’s hospitals.
National consultation days
A national consultation was held over two days in December 2009 in the historical Dublin Castle venue. The purpose of the consultation days was to explore children and young people’s perspectives on hospital design to ensure the new children’s hospital is responsive to their needs.
Approximately 100 children and young people aged between eight and 18 years took part in the workshops. All the children and young people who attended had direct experience of being in one of the three children’s hospitals in Ireland and so had a wealth of knowledge about children’s hospitals.
They showed enormous enthusiasm and creativity in their suggestions for the hospital and demonstrated a real awareness of the issues which were most relevant for the users of the hospital, present and future.
This input and continued input of children and young people into the process will ensure that the new children’s hospital will have the interests of its user’s central to its development.
View a video below from the National Consultation Days.
Consultation with children from 5-8 years old
As part of the ongoing multi-stakeholder consultation, the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) saw it important to explore the views of young children aged 5-8 years, especially since the voices of young children are often neglected and/or represented through adult proxies.
The aim of the study conducted in November and December 2009 was to explore young children’s perspectives of physical and social hospital spaces and what they perceived an ideal hospital environment should look like. Fifty-five young children (5-8 years) with a variety of acute/chronic and medical/surgical conditions participated.
Youth Advisory Panel (YAP)
The Goal of YAP is to ensure that the views and opinions of young people are incorporated into the planning and design of the new children’s hospital.
Their role is to work with the project team of the new children’s hospital to ensure that the design and operation of the hospital meets the needs of children and young people.
They will bring new ideas to the design of the new children’s hospital; provide advice to the project team on the process of gathering and presenting the views, issues and concerns of young people and will help the project team communicate to the wider community of young people what is being done e.g. through the production of a newsletter, contributions to a website, liaison with other youth groups etc.
The YAP will attend between four and six meetings per year.
Family Forum
The NPHDB is committed to ensuring that the rights and views of young people and their families are embedded into the design and operating principles of the new children’s hospital. Consultation with families and associated interest groups has been a key focus of planning to date.
Submissions have been received from various patient and family interest groups. A Family Forum representing families nationally with vast experience of children’s hospitals was established this year.
The Forum meets on a regular basis to input towards the design and operation of the new hospital. This consultation will continue throughout the planning, design and construction period and into the operation of the new hospital.
Engagement with special interest groups
As part of the NPHDB’s ongoing commitment to engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, submissions relating to design considerations for the new children's hospital have been received by a number of special interest groups.