What young people told us at Youth Fest

Young people could write their comments straight onto the tablecloth, or talk to a member of our team who wrote down exactly what they said. Nobody was asked for their name. In total we had 19 written responses and 11 spoken accounts, covering booking appointments, waiting times, talking to health professionals, dental visits, hospital care and registering with a GP.

Getting through to a GP practice came up more than anything else, with waiting a close second. One young person described ringing at 8.00am and reaching an automated booking system rather than a person. Others asked simply for more appointments. What struck us was that young people talked about the stress of waiting, not just its length. One asked for a sensory-friendly waiting area to make that wait easier to manage.

Several told us they struggle to follow what health professionals say, and struggle more to explain their own symptoms in return. One young person said they do not understand what their GP says and cannot explain things properly, so their mum speaks for them instead. Being able to speak for yourself is part of growing up, and young people who cannot do that in an appointment are at a disadvantage from the start.

Dental visits drew the most negative comments of any service. One young person described their dentist as strict and rude, and said they became angry when questions were asked. Another put it this way: "Sometimes when I go to the dentist, they are so focused on their work that they don't comfort people, and when they talk, they are hurting my teeth."

We also heard about hospital care, where one young person noticed the effect of disorganisation on other patients as much as on themselves, and from another who had been asked to change GP practice because of where they live and did not want to leave a doctor they rate.

Thirty responses gathered over one afternoon are a snapshot, not a survey, and we have been careful to present them that way. But they point clearly at things local services can act on: youth-friendly communication, clearer updates when clinics run late, sensory-friendly waiting arrangements, better explanation and reassurance during dental appointments, and a proper look at telephone access at peak times.

Some of what young people raised sits beyond what any single practice or hospital can change, including appointment availability, waiting times for scans and the way GP registration works. We have set those out separately in the report and will raise them with NHS North East London and NHS England.

This is the first time we have reported on feedback from one of our outreach events, and we intend to do the same for future ones. A great deal of what we hear at events like this has never been written down anywhere. It should be.