Healthwatch Bury has worked with young people across the borough to ensure their experiences, views and concerns are heard by those in the health and social care system that have the ability to change things.
Our past projects have ranged from looking at services delivered by CAMHS services in the region, making videos with media students exploring depression, gathering experiences from young people on a mental health unit/mental health services in Bury to contribute to the "Young Peoples Promise" to a completely young people led and researched project where they picked the subject that meant the most to them.
You can find details of some of these projects below.
Student Mental Health Survey report
Healthwatch Bury worked alongside a group of student volunteers from Holy Cross 6th Form College to facilitate a project where the young people could decide upon an issue within health and care that they wanted to work on, and we would support them to research and produce a report from what they found.
They chose mental health, as they had seen first-hand amongst friends and fellow students that there were issues that had come to the for since the COVID pandemic began. They then, with our help, designed a survey which they got more than 300 responses from fellow young people. We provided assistance in turning what they found into a report, which we then shared at commissioning and decision making boards nd committies, ensuring that it was seen by the right people that could make a difference.
Student placements 2021-22
Healthwatch Bury had Alice and Keir on student placement with us for a week. They were both happy to participate in various activities that our volunteer coordinator, Charlotte, had arranged prior to their visit.
Alice and Keir joined our information stall at Tesco where we were able to support members of the public by providing information on local health and social care groups. They also came along to our weekly Access Assistance drop-in session where they helped us by supporting the asylum seekers and refugees with making health appointments and helping them with any other enquiries. Alice and Keir also joined the Ukrainian drop-in session to observe how local organisations come together to support Ukrainian refugees.
Healthy Young Minds report
Report was released by Healthwatch in Greater Manchester,which shows the findings of a project to find out the experiences of families using the Healthy Young Minds (children and adolescent mental health service). Combining surveys of parents and professionals as well as focus groups with parents and carers, the report highlights their experiences in Trafford, Bury, Rochdale and Oldham.
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There were more than 300 responses to the surveys, 19 focus groups and one to one sessions which provided a significant amount of feedback to identify where the system was failing those who use it and what it is doing well. Positive comments were usually related to individual staff members or when treatment had been successful.
The project was carried out across the areas in Greater Manchester where the Healthy Young Minds service is provided by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust. Data gathered by the local Healthwatch organisations, covering those areas, showed there was some regional variation between the boroughs.
In Bury, most parents spoken to in the focus group and one to one interviews that were carried out across the borough expressed similar concerns. One of them being that young children with issues were not always given the opportunity able to fully voice their feelings, unless it was expressed through their parents. Parents also felt that their experience of accessing the mental health services was better when schools and Healthy Young Minds worked closely together.
Media student makes video about depression for Healthwatch Bury
Healthwatch Bury first approached Bury College with a brief aimed at creating website content that young people can relate to.
Xander Ross accepted the brief and and spent weeks identifying the demographic audience, researching statistics and conducting surveys, in order to create a promotional video to help raise awareness about mental health issues amongst young people.
Once the talented Creative Media student had completed the background research, he worked hard to direct the film, choose music, source stock footage and film interviews to produce a brilliant video. We were so delighted that we presented him with a paperweight to celebrate his achievement and recognise his hard work.
17-year-old Xander is delighted that his video has been so well received and that it has been used on Healthwatch Bury’s digital platform.
Xander said, “I really enjoyed this opportunity and it was great that I could work on a live brief. I enjoyed meeting and working with new people, carrying out research and filming and producing the final film. However, the video has since allowed me the opportunity to not only create a video to help with my portfolio, but also the opportunity to help educate people and increase understanding of mental health issues which I was incredibly happy to have the opportunity to do. By doing this video for Healthwatch, it has helped open my eyes to the ways in which I can use my media and production skills to help increase understanding of mental health issues."
Paul Howarth, Bury College Work Experience Placement Coordinator, who helped to create the filming opportunity added, “The level of maturity, independence and resilience that Xander displayed throughout the filming process was brilliant. I am in awe of what he has produced.”
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