July update

[Photo taken at SAPC annual scientific meeting at Bristol, July 2011, at the welcome wine tasting, catching up with Prof Kelsey Hegarty from Melbourne who presented some fabulous work on domestic violence]

Hope everyone reading this is well and looking forward to  having a break over summer.

I wanted to update you on  a few adolescent health matters.

There has been a release of the recently modified You’re Welcome criteria

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_126813

Well worth reading and accessing the check list but regrettable that the ring-fenced money for supporting practices has since been withdrawn and the check list activity will carry no quality assurance (and rely on rater honesty!). Also, regrettable that no primary care staff seem to have been involved in the working party who update the quality criteria (see acknowledgments).

It seems we have more work to do to raise the profile of GPs’ clinical involvement in Transitional care when young people move from paediatric  to adult services. This has been a key area of DH activity and was also the subject of a workshop we ran at RCGP Conference 2009 but we need to let more people know what happens in day to day practice and contribute to training and development. Like starting senior school, moving out of paediatric and child centred care into adult services can be tricky and unsettling with people falling through the gap, yet many of the problems can be anticipated.

Also wanted to add the link to the Association of Young People’s Health with whom we are looking to work more closely this year.

http://www.youngpeopleshealth.org.uk

We will be participating on a series of national Master Classes and also collaborating on two national conferences : more nearer the time.

Talking of conferences ,last week I was at SAPC’s annual scientific meeting in Bristol.

http://www.sapc.ac.uk

It was a great success and the presentations were , as ever ,of high calibre although a scan of the published abstracts shows overall  a low percentage of research targeting the needs and  experiences of young people. 33/672  posters and oral presentations included data on the under 18 years old.

I intend to lead the group on a research project this year and to work with young researchers as active participants. We will be considering proposals when we next meet in September.

Until the next blog posting

Best wishes

Jane

jane.roberts@sunderland.ac.uk

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

Celebrating the amazing life of Dr Ann McPherson

The memorial service held for Ann was at Balliol College on Friday 10th June and here is a group of adolescent health group stalwarts: from L-R: Nicola Grey (our Pharmacy lead), Vice Chair Marian Davis, Frances Perrow (our media mogul), Dr Chris Donovan (Founding member) and Chair Jane Roberts.
It was a joyful occasions, apart from the tears, orchestrated by Jon Snow and illuminated by brilliant sunshine and the august surroundings of Balliol hall and grounds.The homilies to Ann and memories of her life conveyed a vivid collage of  a life lived with exuberance and energy.....and when we were all just about bowled over by what  one woman had achieve in her very full life her family brought us back to earth with stories  of the humanity and imperfection of their adored mum and grannie.
I think we all left bouyed up by some of Ann's characteristic joie de vivre and inspired to keep her spirit alive in all we wish to achieve for adolescent health in primary care.
A truly memorable day.

Best wishes

Jane

Gendered violence in UK teenage relationships

Continuing research tells us that gendered teen violence is a real and growing problem for young people in the UK. I was listening to ‘All in the mind’ BBC radio 4 on 31/5/11 to a report on research carried out by Dr Christine Barter at Bristol University. It was saddening to hear the testimonies of young girls, some as young as 13, talking about the violence and intimidation they had experience by their boyfriends, almost always older, and of the enormous difficulties they had in accepting there was a problem and prioritising their safety. Most agreed that at the time they were unable to see what was happening to them as something wrong. Issues of self-worth were mixed with a normalization of violence in  modern UK society.

We might be mindful of this phenomenon when consulting with young girls over contraception and sexual health.  

I wonder what others think and if anyone has something else to add on this subject?

 More information can be found at

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime/violence-against-women-girls/teenage-relationship-abuse/

http://bristol.ac.uk/sps/aboutus/sps-staff-details/barter/ Dr Christine Barter

This week we are preparing for the memorial service to commemorate the life and work of Dr Ann McPherson in Oxford on Friday 10^th. It  has been good to see the obituaries in the BMJ and the broadsheets as well as coverage from RCGP Chair Clare Gerada. She led a remarkably full life andher legacy to us is rich.

I will update the blog after the service.  

Best wishes

Jane

In honour of Dr Ann McPherson

We have all been saddened to  hear of the death of Dr Ann  McPherson who passed away on May 28^th.

Ann, along with Drs Chris Donovan and Aidan Macfarlane, was a Founding Member of the AHG and her vision and passion lie at the heart of our group’s raison d’etre. She has inspired us all and her inspiration will continue to guide us for as long as the group is in existence.

Ann was a consummate communicator and only 2 weeks ago was  awarded the  'BMJ Communicator of the Year Award'

http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2011/111905.html.

Ann’s legacy was extraordinary. She has left us  http://www.teenagehealthfreak.org (in collaboration with Dr Macfarlane) and was the co-founder of DIPEX: the charity of Oxford University Department of Primary Healthcare  Health Experiences Research group (with pharmacologist Andrew Herxheimer).which now features  2,000 people stories and information on over 50 conditions.  The project’s website has a sister site http://www.youthhealthtalk.org and  I had the pleasure of contributing to the specific research project exploring young people’s experiences of depression, a project benefiting from Comic Relief money and Ann’s indefatigable drive.

Hugh Grant was her one of biggest fans and in March she was on TV with him to mark the 10^th year  anniversary of DIPEX.

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/julienrath/5529201255/in/photostream/

Motivated to share her own experiences of two diagnoses of cancer Ann contributed her own personal stories to show others they were not alone through DIPEX.

Most recently, Dr McPherson created the group Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying (HPAD) which campaigns for greater patient choice at the end of life, including the option of assisted dying subject to legal safeguards.  [http://www. hpad.org.uk/ ]

We will be preparing a fitting tribute to the central role Ann has played in the Group’s history and will continue to play in its future, and I will keep   you posted on the website.

My thoughts are with her family who must be feeling bereft.

Yours

Jane

Welcome to the RCGP Adolescent Health Group Chair's Blog

Welcome to everybody reading this newly launched blog.
My intention is to keep you posted on the activities of the RCGP Adolescent Health Group (AHG) as they occur and to invite your participation.

Young people's health has to be  a key priority  in primary care as we nurture the next generation, promoting their healthy development into the resourceful individuals we will need them to be. Adolescence has always been, and will always be, a time of transition, of new and exciting opportunities but also of uncertainty and challenge.
I believe there is much we can foster in General Practice to support young people's healthy development and the RCGP Adolescent Health Group can play an important role as advocate. The group has a long history of supporting practice's wanting to offer youth-friendly care and we are currently working on a number of initiatives; steered by Dick Churchill our past Chair.

 I would like to thank Dick for his long commitment to the group and for the legacy he leaves. I will continue to keep you posted on the progress of the initiatives which include the provision of  new teaching material and guidance re confidentiality in consultations.

I look forward to leading the group into the next phase of its history and welcome your support.

Best wishes

Jane Roberts