Youth voice experts, Participation People, has joined forces with NHS Midlands to launch a ground-breaking Young Inspectors programme which will review diabetes services across the region. Kickstarting in July, Participation People will recruit, train and support 15 young people – half of whom live with diabetes – to offer a fresh perspective on the quality of healthcare services for diabetic patients in the region, with a key focus on the transition of diabetic care from childcare to adulthood.

The project signals a move by NHS Midlands to enhance service delivery by listening directly to young people’s voices and responding to their needs. Over a three month period, The Young Inspectors will interview staff working across diabetes departments in the region, as well as carry out mystery shops and site visits to identify any potential gaps in services and care, presenting findings to key decision makers across NHS Midlands in October. If needed, service improvements will then be implemented via an action plan, co-produced by the Young Inspectors and decision makers at NHS Midlands.

Involving young people in service improvement will be an ongoing focus for NHS Midlands, with Participation People set to create a Youth Voice Roadmap to guide them on how to strengthen their youth voice practice and consistently listen to, value and act on young people’s voices in the future.

Kate Branchett, Children and Young People Programme Director at NHS Midlands, commented; “The Young Inspectors programme will be an exciting opportunity to really understand diabetes services across the region from a young person’s perspective and to find out how we can deliver the best care possible by finding out directly from those who know best – the users themselves.”

Young Inspector Cameron Trotter, aged 18, also added; “Young inspectors gave me the opportunity to develop my skills, evaluate services and offer ways for them to improve. I was given a training session, the experience was very empowering and the feeling of being able to better improve services for other young people was great.”’

Participation People has been working with NHS Midlands on youth voice programmes to help improve their services for the last four years. To find out more about Participation People visit https://participationpeople.com/