My launch statement June 2011

The RCGP Adolescent Health Group would like to announce the appointment of their newly elected Chair: Dr Jane Roberts who begins her three year term this month. (June 2011).

Jane succeeds Dick Churchill who was Chair for five years, and who worked hard to consolidate the group’s leadership in promoting youth friendly general practice with  the ‘Getting it right’  initiative a major contribution to youth-friendly general practice This was initially developed by Dr Ann McPherson whose passing we have recently mourned  but whose memory is in the  AHG’s DNA and will continue to inspire the group and its activities. Dick also led on e-learning initiatives and  we hope to continue the work through the RCPCH’s review of the Adolescent Health E-Learning Programme .

Jane is keen to lead the group into a new phase of its life as the challenges to young people’s health continue. Despite the amazing vitality and optimism which so often characterizes youth and makes young people such fun to work with, teenagers in the UK today are faced with a number of challenges which pose particular threats to their emotional and physical well-being. The ubiquitous availability of  cheap alcohol and the dominance of alcohol in our cultural life has contributed to a rise in alcohol use, especially in the younger age groups, which is of particular  concern. Not unrelated, we have also seen  an increase in obesity rates amongst the 11-15 year olds and new cases of Chlamydia (although this may in part be due to improved screening techniques) (see www.chimat.org,uk for a summary of adolescent health in the UK today)  . 

Whilst adolescent health has benefitted from increased  government attention in the last decade the impact of child poverty has not lessened . The comprehensive Marmot review has emphasised the key task of reducing inequalities in social and economic circumstances which have a profound impact on health if we are to tackle the long term consequences of social disadvantage and injustice.We have all seen the human cost of disadvantage in our surgeries as ‘our poorest, most vulnerable and most disadvantaged children are the first to become parents themselves’(Gregoire and Hornby, 2011). 

There is much  that we can do in general practice and there have been a number of initiatives to demonstrate what is possible. The Kennedy report   places general practice at the heart of good primary care, ‘the single point of access’ (2010:9) but we lack data which accurately describes the current state of play regarding young people’s use of and access to primary health care. This will be a key area of activity for the AHG as it strengthens its relationship with CIRC and seeks to work collaboratively with colleagues in the Royal Colleges and with the clinical champions of the RCGP.

The group is open to new RCGP members and if you have  a particular passion and area  of expertise in adolescent health we would love to hear from you. Please contact Jane Roberts (Chair)

jane.roberts@sunderland.ac.uk or  Marian Davis (Vice –Chair)tom.mathias@which.net.

There will be a shortened version of my statement issued as a press release.

Please get back to me with any comments

Best wishes

Jane