Seeing the GP: Advice and tips for young people
Young people’s views on improving access to GP services and other support
People gave us their ideas on what could help improve healthcare for young people, including:
• clinics for young people
• mental health clinics for young people
• clinics for all age groups
• telephone helplines
• online health services and live chat
• support from other young people
Clinics for young people
Simon felt that specific clinic times for young people would be helpful. They would also give them the opportunity to meet other people dealing with similar issues and ‘share how they do things differently’. He felt that young people in a GP surgery for all age groups rarely talk to one another but in a clinic for young people ‘they’re more inclined to talk’.
How would you feel if the surgeries had like slots in the evenings, six ‘till eight or whatever, once a week or something, just as a young people’s clinic?
I think that would be useful for young people because it would be nice for them to meet other people perhaps who are suffering from other similar conditions. And that’s a great way for them to get together to share experiences, share how they do things differently. And it may just help them because sometimes if a young person goes to a GP surgery and they’re the only young person there, you know, they’ll sit in a corner and not talk to anybody. Whereas if it’s somebody of a similar age, they’re more inclined to talk and it could be beneficial to them really.
And in terms of young people, what were, what would you say were the main reasons they might go to the GP? Do you have any thoughts about what sort of things are most likely to affect young people?
I mean it’s sort of difficult because when you’ve got young people with long term conditions, the reason why they go to the GP are likely to be completely different perhaps to what other young people might go to the GP with. So I’ve known people who’ve gone to the GP because they’ve had a few aches and pains. Whereas, for me, I wouldn’t go to the GP with that because I’m used to it. So there’s, you can definitely see the difference between young people who are healthy and those who have got long term conditions as well. I think there’s some cross, crossing things perhaps, like young people might go to the GP, you know, development reasons, and sexual health perhaps.
Ambeya also liked the idea of these clinics because everyone would be equal and not ‘put on a scale of who’s more important, who’s less important....everyone at that clinic would be equally seen or equally judged’. She thought that having these clinics after school would mean that young people wouldn’t have to miss lessons. She also liked the idea of young people being given work opportunities to help out at GP surgeries, and volunteer drop-in sessions for advice on mental health.
I think it would definitely be good because then you won't be…you won't be like put on a scale of who's more important, who's less important, because then everyone at that clinic would be equally seen or equally judged. So I think it would be a good thing, and it will be better to be after school and stuff like that, so yeah I think it would be cool.
Yeah, you mentioned that after school would be better?
Well it depends because obviously some people…if it's a really bad illness then they should be obviously…they should obviously miss school to go and see the GP. But there are like…there are like…like I know some of my friends who'd like to be seen after school because they don’t really want to miss school, knowing that was for an appointment that they had to wait like half an hour for. So sometimes after school, it doesn’t even need to be for the whole, probably like three to five or something, just to know that you can go somewhere and just come back out straight away.
Mm and what age group do you think would be most appropriate?
It depends what you mean by young people.
What would you think young people – what does it mean to you as a young person? Maybe from age twelve, maybe fourteen, maybe up to twenty, maybe twenty five?
I think it should be…I think young people should be classed from thirteen to nineteen, should be the teen years.
Hm mm. Is that the kind of area…that kind of age group that you think needs the most….?
Yeah, because obviously up to twelve you're classed as a child. And then thirteen to eighteen you're classed as a teen. Eighteen onwards you're an adult, but I think it should be increased to nineteen at least.
Yeah. That kind of transition period of between being a child and….?
Yeah, yeah, or it could even be split up by like age…not even age groups, like GCSE, A-level, Uni or something.
Now that you're twenty years old…
Yeah
…do you feel like you would benefit from something like this, a young person's clinic, or do you think you are able to…?
Yeah, I think I've got so used to doing it by myself. I'd rather just stick to doing it because I know what to do now. I wouldn’t want to try something new now that I've already learnt the skills to cope myself. Well I say that now, but obviously there are times when I would need access to stuff like this, which would be good, but I think because I've learned over the years to do things myself, I'd rather just stick to that.
Auberon felt that drop-in clinics at specific times during the week for all health problems, physical and mental, would mean that young people wouldn’t need to make an appointment and could go there on their own, without their parents. Aphra liked the idea of a drop-in clinic too. There were two GP surgeries in her village and she thought that one could be for older people and the other for young people. In a village ‘people know each other’, and she felt that this could be hard for teenagers who went to the doctor’s on their own.
Hannah and Winston felt that a young people’s clinic would be helpful for teenagers who are concerned about sexual health and contraception.
Mental health clinics for young people
Nikki felt that mental health clinics specifically for young people would be ‘a really good idea’ as she believed that there needs to be a much greater focus on mental health. In a clinic focussing only on mental health problems and concerns, people ‘won’t be compared to those with physical health problems’.
What if they had specific clinics for mental health, so once a week or, you know, two hours in the evening, you know every few days. How would you feel about that?
I think that would be a really good idea. Like they need to do stuff like that cos they need to focus on it a little bit more because I think everyone's going to experience a mental health problem at some point in their life because that’s just really the nature of life. But I think they need to do stuff like that.
It might be a bit daunting for people to go to it, but then at least they know that they're not going to be alone when they go there. It's not going to be like…they're not going to be compared to different people with physical health issues because it's just going to be like.... Like whenever I go to somewhere that’s the same for physical health, I always think, 'Oh, well they're going to see this person as more important than me.' So maybe when it's just for mental health, maybe people won't feel like that.
Sophie felt that it would have been useful when she was going through problems to have had someone at the GP surgery ‘on hand to drop-in on’ who knew a lot about mental health. For her, a drop-in clinic on Saturdays would be convenient as it means that students could easily attend. She feels that young people’s main concerns are mental health, sexual health, and relationships, and that more information about these in schools would be helpful.
Lucy liked the idea of walk-in centres for mental health, maybe with counsellors available, as long as there wasn’t a three or four hour wait to see someone. She also felt that it would be good to have a young people’s support group for mental health at the GP surgery, one for people under 18 and another for young people over 18.
You know, like walk-in centres. I was like, “What if you got them but for mental health as well?” Like you just went in, had a bit of a chat with someone, although it would be a bit rubbish, wouldn’t it? Because if it was anything like the walk-in centre we’ve got in town where it’s like three hours for an appointment, it would be a bit like you’re sat in this waiting room, waiting three hours to talk to someone. Like, “Oh, no.” And then you go in for like a 10-minute chat. Ignore that. That would be a rubbish idea.
But say it was a walk-in centre or a part, separate, just a separate part of the --
Yeah.
-- doctor’s surgery?
Yeah.
And, you know, you could walk in. Hopefully it wasn’t going to be three or four hours’ wait.
Yeah.
You know, maybe 20 minutes.
Yeah.
That kind of thing. Would that be good? A walk-in centre there, just off the GP’s surgery?
Yeah, yeah, that would be good. Just like a bit like a counsellors, something like that. You’d just go in. It would be like, if they had them like in all local GP’s, so then obviously they don’t get too clogged up. And it’s just like, “Look, I just, I need someone to talk to.”
How about mental health support groups at a GP’s surgery that, say, met up once every two weeks or something?
Yeah.
Made up of people, maybe there’s a professional there. But --
[Mmhm]
-- a support group at the surgery?
That would probably be good. Cos I know obviously you get those groups that’s like pregnant women groups, alcoholics’ groups. And I’ve seen them do them for young carers in the GP near me. But I’ve never seen anything like mental health based.
So that would be good?
Yeah.
And do you think it should be for, like two separate ones? One for over 25 or something and one for --
Yeah, like alternate them. Like maybe a teenage one and an adult one. So like 14, 13 to 18 and then 18 up.
Who, should someone run them?
Yeah.
Like someone who’s been through it? Or a professional of some sort?
Probably a professional of some sort, just to sort of lead it. Cos it would be, like otherwise it could possibly get a bit messy if people have like a difference in opinion.
Auberon liked the idea of having clinics specifically for young people – one for sexual health and another for mental health. He also thought that a mental health support group at GP surgeries would be helpful, perhaps every fortnight. The group could be run by young people and a mental health professional.
So if you feel more comfortable with people around your age group, do you think it could be helpful if they had specific times for young people's clinics; or any ideas on that kind of thing?
Specific time for young people? Yes, I think they could be like in terms of sexual health and stuff. There could be a sexual health clinic as the nearest one is about…it's about ten minutes on a bus from there so…and there's also a GUM clinic located at their sistering hospital, at the hospital they're twinned with. But there could be a sexual health clinic or some young people's clinic or something. Or even young people's mental health clinic I would say.
At the GP's surgery?
At the GP's surgery.
So if there was a mental health, a young people's mental health clinic there, you would find that helpful?
Yes.
And who would it be run by if there was one there, what's the best thing if they wanted to hear your views on the services?
Probably by a psychiatrist really, I would say by a psychiatrist who would answer any questions. They might not know the person but at least they would answer any questions they might have and stuff, or prescribe any one off medications, or any medications that they're currently taking that, if you know what I mean. That can only be prescribed by mental health professionals, who does it themselves, so yeah.
Clinics for all age groups
Not everyone liked the idea of clinics specifically for young people, especially if they rarely went to the doctors’. Louis was unsure whether he’d like a young people’s clinic in GP surgeries because he ‘might see other people I knew there which, you know, makes me feel a bit awkward if I saw them’. But he felt that they could be useful if the clinics were run at school so that no one would have to miss lessons because of a doctor’s appointment. Peter felt that clinics just for young people were unnecessary because ‘you can feel that you’re being singled out....and it just alienates you from others’.
So if there was a clinic at the surgery that was just for young people, do you think that would be helpful or do you think it's not really necessary?
I think it wouldn’t be really necessary because you can feel that you're being singled out and other people, like it just alienates you from others. You want to be in the same clinic especially if you want to be more independent. You don’t want others to feel that others are sort of intruding on you and forcing you to do this or that, so it's good to be in the same situation as other people.
Gentian felt that a young people’s clinic run at a specific time might not be convenient for everyone. He believed that young people should be able to go to the surgery ‘whenever they’re available, not just when the GP says they can come’. Tagbo felt that, although having young people’s clinics might encourage more people to see the GP, teenagers ‘want to be like adults’ and might prefer to see the doctor when it fits in with their own schedule and without parents. Sarah also disliked the idea of young people’s clinics as they’d ‘partition off young people...you’re kind of diminishing them as a person’.
Telephone helplines
Paula thought it would be helpful to have a telephone service specifically for young people where they could phone in with their queries and concerns. Auberon would also have liked a telephone helpline for young people, as long as they could get through direct to a GP and not to an automated service giving information, while Lucy felt that an NHS non-emergency number specifically for mental health would be useful for people of all age groups. Nikki thought a young people’s helpline would be helpful if it was promoted enough and people knew it was available. She’d sometimes used the Samaritans helpline and thought it was important for young people to know what support was available. She felt that a helpline run by and for young people ‘would be a really good idea’ or a texting service where young people could ‘interact and support each other’.
Would any other ways be good for people, whether that’s being able to email a GP, or drop in clinics – anything like that?
Yeah I think… like a lot of the time people use social media, messaging and stuff, a lot. And one of the services I used to use, I could text them and that was like really, really helpful as a young person because I find it difficult to speak on the phone. Sometimes as well I find it difficult to speak to people face to face, so texting was really good. So I think maybe if they…it might be difficult to do but maybe if they like sort of made it a bit more relevant to young people, like texting or something, that would be really good.
Can you tell me what was really helpful with the texting? So with the organisation, could you text them a question or what would you…how did it all work that was good?
So I would text them if I needed something, if I forgot when the next appointment was, if I… if I needed some sort of support or anything. And then they would be really, really helpful and they'd say, "Why don’t you try this?" Like they would text like one of the coping strategies I could try for example. It just really helped because sometimes like you just…you can't get it out in words, like so it's just a lot less daunting to text sometimes.
So you could text how you were feeling and they would text back straight away?
As soon as they could, yeah.
Sophie had phoned the Samaritans too and liked that ‘there’s someone always there at the end of the phone’. Siobhan preferred texting to talking to someone from the Samaritans and would have liked them to have an email service. She also liked the idea of a young people’s helpline at the GP surgery and felt that someone working specifically with young people would be less likely to use medical jargon. The Samaritans do offer an email service, and details about it can be found on their website.
What did you do then because you'd been put off going to the GP?
Yeah. Well I used…like my friends a lot, my family a lot tried to talk about it a lot. But also I found, yeah as things kind of came more popular on the internet, things like the Samaritans, of which I found really useful.
That’s really, you know helpful what you're saying.
Yeah.
So someone else who's in a similar situation, what would you…how would you say that the Samaritans have been helpful?
Well it's really just a case of like, when I was going to my GP it was because I…there was someone I wanted to talk to about my problems and I didn’t know how to go about kind of finding the solution.
And so with the Samaritans and other things like that, it's just really good to know that there's someone always there like at the end of the phone. And, you know, you can say whatever you want to them and it's…yeah, they’ll talk to you. And if you just need a voice to talk to, it's really good.
So two things that you’ve mentioned a bit earlier is talking over the phone.
Yeah.
Because they don’t necessarily need to see anything.
Yeah, yeah.
And someone who knows a lot more about mental health problems and things like that, which you felt your GP didn’t.
Yeah.
Those things really made a difference then?
Yeah, definitely.
Susan said that it can take a long time for people to accept that they need help with a mental health issue. If young people could phone and talk to a professional with experience of working with young people and mental health problems, that would be helpful.
If the NHS could do something, provide more services for younger people in their GP's surgeries, do you think that could be helpful and what kind of things could they provide?
I certainly think mental health things, but then I think it's really hard to actually get yourself to the stage where you want to see someone. Even though…I mean I know that the counselling service was advertised to me at Uni, but it really took me to be like, 'I have to sort this out,' and that took a long, long time. And maybe part of that was thinking that I wasn’t…it wasn’t serious enough, so maybe just, yeah it's really tough.
I think it is helpful to have people that, not specialists, but people that have experience talking to young people, and just understanding their needs better because then I think that would help with just the general…I think once young people feel that GPs are good, then everyone will go. And I think…but it would take a while to spread round, yeah.
Would it be helpful at all if there was a telephone number available, almost like a helpline number specifically for young people, where they could phone and talk about mental health problems?
I think so, yeah, definitely. And especially something quite direct access where you don’t have to wait for ages I think would be really good. The other thing I think is in schools because if you're not someone that goes to the GP, you're not almost going to be exposed to it. Whereas everyone goes to school, or at least most people go to school, so that would probably be a…yeah.
For Gentian the main advantage of a helpline would be to get health questions answered without needing to see the GP. He felt that phoning a GP was better than emailing because emails might not get answered, and that hearing a voice is better than ‘just reading’. If there was such a helpline, Aaron felt it should be answered by people ‘trained in dealing with young people rather than general’.
Online health services and live chat
Tagbo liked the idea of a helpline for young people, and felt that such a service online might be used more often by teenagers, especially if they could ask health questions anonymously. He felt that young people might ask about sex, drugs, and relationships, and other topics that were hard to talk to parents about. Rowan and Emma felt that a live chat helpline would be good:
Support from other young people
Some people, like Rowan, preferred not to see others of their own age at the doctor’s surgery, but thought that talking to other young people could be a good idea instead of going to the GP surgery with minor worries. But Hazzan felt that, ‘If people are talking amongst themselves, then I don’t think they'd get anywhere….I think they'd need a GP to step in at certain points to answer questions that young people may have.’
I think sometimes, and I think it…I really saw it at one of the conferences I went to recently. Doctors get so absorbed in their kind of primary care/secondary care/tertiary care, that actually they don’t always see the benefits of peer support. And when you are…if they are going in to schools and talking to young people, and if they have a good health education, then they can support each other too.
Young people?
Yeah. And I think it's important that when they do have a silly question that actually they won't need to go to the GP, they won't need to ring up, they won't need to Skype a GP because it might be answered by their friend. They might say, "Oh I've had that, it's just a bug going round" or something, or whatever it might be.
So young people talking to each other as well?
Yeah.
Auberon liked the idea of an online forum where young people could discuss their health problems or concerns with each other, and Susan felt that support from other young people for mental health would be helpful. She felt that ‘there’s still so much stigma’ around mental health but people are more likely to listen to those who’ve been through it because ‘it’s good to see it’s not just you’.
And the kind of peer support group that you run in the church, is that something you would feel interested in running in a GP's surgery if they were looking for people to run it?
Yeah.
Peer to peer support kind of thing.
Yeah. I mean I would be interested in doing pretty much anything because I just really want to help other young people or just anyone in general, regardless of age, to feel like they're not alone because no one is. Like I don’t…I hate it when someone comes to me and says that I feel really alone because it's just like…like I know how that feels and it's horrible.
So I think I would run a peer support group at the doctor's surgery, anywhere that young people want it. Like anyone wants it because these sort of things really help; they make a difference and it's worth it then.
• clinics for young people
• mental health clinics for young people
• clinics for all age groups
• telephone helplines
• online health services and live chat
• support from other young people
Clinics for young people
Simon felt that specific clinic times for young people would be helpful. They would also give them the opportunity to meet other people dealing with similar issues and ‘share how they do things differently’. He felt that young people in a GP surgery for all age groups rarely talk to one another but in a clinic for young people ‘they’re more inclined to talk’.
Clinics for young people would be a great way to share experiences and meet people going through similar problems.
Clinics for young people would be a great way to share experiences and meet people going through similar problems.
Sex: Male
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I think that would be useful for young people because it would be nice for them to meet other people perhaps who are suffering from other similar conditions. And that’s a great way for them to get together to share experiences, share how they do things differently. And it may just help them because sometimes if a young person goes to a GP surgery and they’re the only young person there, you know, they’ll sit in a corner and not talk to anybody. Whereas if it’s somebody of a similar age, they’re more inclined to talk and it could be beneficial to them really.
And in terms of young people, what were, what would you say were the main reasons they might go to the GP? Do you have any thoughts about what sort of things are most likely to affect young people?
I mean it’s sort of difficult because when you’ve got young people with long term conditions, the reason why they go to the GP are likely to be completely different perhaps to what other young people might go to the GP with. So I’ve known people who’ve gone to the GP because they’ve had a few aches and pains. Whereas, for me, I wouldn’t go to the GP with that because I’m used to it. So there’s, you can definitely see the difference between young people who are healthy and those who have got long term conditions as well. I think there’s some cross, crossing things perhaps, like young people might go to the GP, you know, development reasons, and sexual health perhaps.
Clinics for 13-19 year olds would be helpful. At the age of 20, Ambeya feels that she’s ‘learnt the skills to cope’ by herself now.
Clinics for 13-19 year olds would be helpful. At the age of 20, Ambeya feels that she’s ‘learnt the skills to cope’ by herself now.
Sex: Female
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Yeah, you mentioned that after school would be better?
Well it depends because obviously some people…if it's a really bad illness then they should be obviously…they should obviously miss school to go and see the GP. But there are like…there are like…like I know some of my friends who'd like to be seen after school because they don’t really want to miss school, knowing that was for an appointment that they had to wait like half an hour for. So sometimes after school, it doesn’t even need to be for the whole, probably like three to five or something, just to know that you can go somewhere and just come back out straight away.
Mm and what age group do you think would be most appropriate?
It depends what you mean by young people.
What would you think young people – what does it mean to you as a young person? Maybe from age twelve, maybe fourteen, maybe up to twenty, maybe twenty five?
I think it should be…I think young people should be classed from thirteen to nineteen, should be the teen years.
Hm mm. Is that the kind of area…that kind of age group that you think needs the most….?
Yeah, because obviously up to twelve you're classed as a child. And then thirteen to eighteen you're classed as a teen. Eighteen onwards you're an adult, but I think it should be increased to nineteen at least.
Yeah. That kind of transition period of between being a child and….?
Yeah, yeah, or it could even be split up by like age…not even age groups, like GCSE, A-level, Uni or something.
Now that you're twenty years old…
Yeah
…do you feel like you would benefit from something like this, a young person's clinic, or do you think you are able to…?
Yeah, I think I've got so used to doing it by myself. I'd rather just stick to doing it because I know what to do now. I wouldn’t want to try something new now that I've already learnt the skills to cope myself. Well I say that now, but obviously there are times when I would need access to stuff like this, which would be good, but I think because I've learned over the years to do things myself, I'd rather just stick to that.
Hannah and Winston felt that a young people’s clinic would be helpful for teenagers who are concerned about sexual health and contraception.
Mental health clinics for young people
Nikki felt that mental health clinics specifically for young people would be ‘a really good idea’ as she believed that there needs to be a much greater focus on mental health. In a clinic focussing only on mental health problems and concerns, people ‘won’t be compared to those with physical health problems’.
It might be daunting for people to go to a mental health clinic but reassuring to know that they’re ‘not going to be alone’.
It might be daunting for people to go to a mental health clinic but reassuring to know that they’re ‘not going to be alone’.
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I think that would be a really good idea. Like they need to do stuff like that cos they need to focus on it a little bit more because I think everyone's going to experience a mental health problem at some point in their life because that’s just really the nature of life. But I think they need to do stuff like that.
It might be a bit daunting for people to go to it, but then at least they know that they're not going to be alone when they go there. It's not going to be like…they're not going to be compared to different people with physical health issues because it's just going to be like.... Like whenever I go to somewhere that’s the same for physical health, I always think, 'Oh, well they're going to see this person as more important than me.' So maybe when it's just for mental health, maybe people won't feel like that.
Lucy liked the idea of walk-in centres for mental health, maybe with counsellors available, as long as there wasn’t a three or four hour wait to see someone. She also felt that it would be good to have a young people’s support group for mental health at the GP surgery, one for people under 18 and another for young people over 18.
There are support groups at the local surgery for young carers, pregnant women, and alcoholism. A mental health support group run by a professional would be good.
There are support groups at the local surgery for young carers, pregnant women, and alcoholism. A mental health support group run by a professional would be good.
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But say it was a walk-in centre or a part, separate, just a separate part of the --
Yeah.
-- doctor’s surgery?
Yeah.
And, you know, you could walk in. Hopefully it wasn’t going to be three or four hours’ wait.
Yeah.
You know, maybe 20 minutes.
Yeah.
That kind of thing. Would that be good? A walk-in centre there, just off the GP’s surgery?
Yeah, yeah, that would be good. Just like a bit like a counsellors, something like that. You’d just go in. It would be like, if they had them like in all local GP’s, so then obviously they don’t get too clogged up. And it’s just like, “Look, I just, I need someone to talk to.”
How about mental health support groups at a GP’s surgery that, say, met up once every two weeks or something?
Yeah.
Made up of people, maybe there’s a professional there. But --
[Mmhm]
-- a support group at the surgery?
That would probably be good. Cos I know obviously you get those groups that’s like pregnant women groups, alcoholics’ groups. And I’ve seen them do them for young carers in the GP near me. But I’ve never seen anything like mental health based.
So that would be good?
Yeah.
And do you think it should be for, like two separate ones? One for over 25 or something and one for --
Yeah, like alternate them. Like maybe a teenage one and an adult one. So like 14, 13 to 18 and then 18 up.
Who, should someone run them?
Yeah.
Like someone who’s been through it? Or a professional of some sort?
Probably a professional of some sort, just to sort of lead it. Cos it would be, like otherwise it could possibly get a bit messy if people have like a difference in opinion.
More health services specifically for young people would be good, including youth centres providing support for mental and physical health problems.
More health services specifically for young people would be good, including youth centres providing support for mental and physical health problems.
Sex: Male
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Specific time for young people? Yes, I think they could be like in terms of sexual health and stuff. There could be a sexual health clinic as the nearest one is about…it's about ten minutes on a bus from there so…and there's also a GUM clinic located at their sistering hospital, at the hospital they're twinned with. But there could be a sexual health clinic or some young people's clinic or something. Or even young people's mental health clinic I would say.
At the GP's surgery?
At the GP's surgery.
So if there was a mental health, a young people's mental health clinic there, you would find that helpful?
Yes.
And who would it be run by if there was one there, what's the best thing if they wanted to hear your views on the services?
Probably by a psychiatrist really, I would say by a psychiatrist who would answer any questions. They might not know the person but at least they would answer any questions they might have and stuff, or prescribe any one off medications, or any medications that they're currently taking that, if you know what I mean. That can only be prescribed by mental health professionals, who does it themselves, so yeah.
Not everyone liked the idea of clinics specifically for young people, especially if they rarely went to the doctors’. Louis was unsure whether he’d like a young people’s clinic in GP surgeries because he ‘might see other people I knew there which, you know, makes me feel a bit awkward if I saw them’. But he felt that they could be useful if the clinics were run at school so that no one would have to miss lessons because of a doctor’s appointment. Peter felt that clinics just for young people were unnecessary because ‘you can feel that you’re being singled out....and it just alienates you from others’.
Being in the same clinic as everyone else can help you feel independent. Peter feels that it’s good to be in the same situation as other people.
Being in the same clinic as everyone else can help you feel independent. Peter feels that it’s good to be in the same situation as other people.
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I think it wouldn’t be really necessary because you can feel that you're being singled out and other people, like it just alienates you from others. You want to be in the same clinic especially if you want to be more independent. You don’t want others to feel that others are sort of intruding on you and forcing you to do this or that, so it's good to be in the same situation as other people.
Paula thought it would be helpful to have a telephone service specifically for young people where they could phone in with their queries and concerns. Auberon would also have liked a telephone helpline for young people, as long as they could get through direct to a GP and not to an automated service giving information, while Lucy felt that an NHS non-emergency number specifically for mental health would be useful for people of all age groups. Nikki thought a young people’s helpline would be helpful if it was promoted enough and people knew it was available. She’d sometimes used the Samaritans helpline and thought it was important for young people to know what support was available. She felt that a helpline run by and for young people ‘would be a really good idea’ or a texting service where young people could ‘interact and support each other’.
Nikki often found it hard to talk about mental health. She found an organisation that she could text and they’d text her back with coping strategies.
Nikki often found it hard to talk about mental health. She found an organisation that she could text and they’d text her back with coping strategies.
Sex: Female
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Yeah I think… like a lot of the time people use social media, messaging and stuff, a lot. And one of the services I used to use, I could text them and that was like really, really helpful as a young person because I find it difficult to speak on the phone. Sometimes as well I find it difficult to speak to people face to face, so texting was really good. So I think maybe if they…it might be difficult to do but maybe if they like sort of made it a bit more relevant to young people, like texting or something, that would be really good.
Can you tell me what was really helpful with the texting? So with the organisation, could you text them a question or what would you…how did it all work that was good?
So I would text them if I needed something, if I forgot when the next appointment was, if I… if I needed some sort of support or anything. And then they would be really, really helpful and they'd say, "Why don’t you try this?" Like they would text like one of the coping strategies I could try for example. It just really helped because sometimes like you just…you can't get it out in words, like so it's just a lot less daunting to text sometimes.
So you could text how you were feeling and they would text back straight away?
As soon as they could, yeah.
The Samaritans were very helpful when Sophie wanted someone to talk to about her feelings.
The Samaritans were very helpful when Sophie wanted someone to talk to about her feelings.
Sex: Female
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Yeah. Well I used…like my friends a lot, my family a lot tried to talk about it a lot. But also I found, yeah as things kind of came more popular on the internet, things like the Samaritans, of which I found really useful.
That’s really, you know helpful what you're saying.
Yeah.
So someone else who's in a similar situation, what would you…how would you say that the Samaritans have been helpful?
Well it's really just a case of like, when I was going to my GP it was because I…there was someone I wanted to talk to about my problems and I didn’t know how to go about kind of finding the solution.
And so with the Samaritans and other things like that, it's just really good to know that there's someone always there like at the end of the phone. And, you know, you can say whatever you want to them and it's…yeah, they’ll talk to you. And if you just need a voice to talk to, it's really good.
So two things that you’ve mentioned a bit earlier is talking over the phone.
Yeah.
Because they don’t necessarily need to see anything.
Yeah, yeah.
And someone who knows a lot more about mental health problems and things like that, which you felt your GP didn’t.
Yeah.
Those things really made a difference then?
Yeah, definitely.
Not everyone with mental health issues will visit the GP. It would be good if a telephone service was also available in schools.
Not everyone with mental health issues will visit the GP. It would be good if a telephone service was also available in schools.
Sex: Female
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I certainly think mental health things, but then I think it's really hard to actually get yourself to the stage where you want to see someone. Even though…I mean I know that the counselling service was advertised to me at Uni, but it really took me to be like, 'I have to sort this out,' and that took a long, long time. And maybe part of that was thinking that I wasn’t…it wasn’t serious enough, so maybe just, yeah it's really tough.
I think it is helpful to have people that, not specialists, but people that have experience talking to young people, and just understanding their needs better because then I think that would help with just the general…I think once young people feel that GPs are good, then everyone will go. And I think…but it would take a while to spread round, yeah.
Would it be helpful at all if there was a telephone number available, almost like a helpline number specifically for young people, where they could phone and talk about mental health problems?
I think so, yeah, definitely. And especially something quite direct access where you don’t have to wait for ages I think would be really good. The other thing I think is in schools because if you're not someone that goes to the GP, you're not almost going to be exposed to it. Whereas everyone goes to school, or at least most people go to school, so that would probably be a…yeah.
Online health services and live chat
Tagbo liked the idea of a helpline for young people, and felt that such a service online might be used more often by teenagers, especially if they could ask health questions anonymously. He felt that young people might ask about sex, drugs, and relationships, and other topics that were hard to talk to parents about. Rowan and Emma felt that a live chat helpline would be good:
Some people, like Rowan, preferred not to see others of their own age at the doctor’s surgery, but thought that talking to other young people could be a good idea instead of going to the GP surgery with minor worries. But Hazzan felt that, ‘If people are talking amongst themselves, then I don’t think they'd get anywhere….I think they'd need a GP to step in at certain points to answer questions that young people may have.’
If young people were given good health education, they could talk to help each other rather than going to the GP with ‘a silly question’.
If young people were given good health education, they could talk to help each other rather than going to the GP with ‘a silly question’.
Sex: Male
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Young people?
Yeah. And I think it's important that when they do have a silly question that actually they won't need to go to the GP, they won't need to ring up, they won't need to Skype a GP because it might be answered by their friend. They might say, "Oh I've had that, it's just a bug going round" or something, or whatever it might be.
So young people talking to each other as well?
Yeah.
If the opportunity came up, Nikki would be happy to run a support group at a GP surgery for young people going through mental health issues.
If the opportunity came up, Nikki would be happy to run a support group at a GP surgery for young people going through mental health issues.
Sex: Female
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Yeah.
Peer to peer support kind of thing.
Yeah. I mean I would be interested in doing pretty much anything because I just really want to help other young people or just anyone in general, regardless of age, to feel like they're not alone because no one is. Like I don’t…I hate it when someone comes to me and says that I feel really alone because it's just like…like I know how that feels and it's horrible.
So I think I would run a peer support group at the doctor's surgery, anywhere that young people want it. Like anyone wants it because these sort of things really help; they make a difference and it's worth it then.
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