Youth involvement in HealthWatch must be mandatory, say sector bodies

[Elaine Kirk]

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This covers England and Wales only , report from CYPNow!
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A group of 15 influential child health organisations is calling on government to amend the Health and Social Care Bill so that HealthWatch has an explicit duty to represent the views of young patients.
HealthWatch is the new body being set up to give patients a say on the provision of health and social care services, at local and national level.

Organisations including the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Barnardo’s want legislation to make clear that local HealthWatch branches and HealthWatch England will engage specifically with children and young people, and not just adults and older people.

In a joint briefing, the group highlights evidence of the exclusion of children and young people’s voices in the NHS, including a report by NCB that found that Local Involvement Networks, the predecessors to local HealthWatch, often failed to understand that engaging with children was part of their official remit

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And before you say "how wonderful, the children are getting a voice" consider this....
report from the Express
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SCHOOLGIRLS as young as 13 have been fitted with contraceptive implants without their parents’ consent.
There was a furious reaction last night when the scheme, part of a government *initiative to cut teenage pregnancies, was revealed.
One mother, whose 13-year-old daughter was given the implant without parental knowledge, described it as “morally wrong”. She said the school had put the implant in her daughter’s arm without even consulting their family doctor.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I feel really angry about this. I agree that teaching teenagers about sexual health and contraception is very important but this is a step too far. To perform a minor surgical procedure on school grounds, without parents knowing is morally wrong

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and a good comment in the Express from Nadine Dorries
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AS the mother of three daughters aged from teen to young ladies, it is very hard to write this with anything other than my parent’s hat on.
I fully applaud and support the Government’s aim to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies.
This can be achieved in many ways. However, in the case of girls as young as 13, it should not be done without a parent’s permission.
If I discovered that someone had cut my daughter’s arm and had surgically inserted a 1.5-inch contraceptive under her skin, with a suture, without my knowledge, I would be incensed as I am sure many parents are.
The implants are not free of side effects which can include weight gain, mood swings and depression. For NHS bosses to assume the right to carry out this invasive procedure upon a child, without discussing the option with her parents is, I believe, a violation of their right to protect and nurture their child.
**GIRLS UNDER 13 ARE SECRETLY BEING GIVEN CONTRACEPTION
The pressure on girls in today’s society to have sex at a young age is already enormous. The insertion of these implants at school is almost like saying: “Now you have the implant, you are free to go and have sex.”
We criticise parents for not taking enough responsibility for their child’s sex education whilst removing all responsibility from under their nose without having the courtesy to inform them. It has to stop and is nothing short of an outrage.

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'Involving children', 'hearing children', 'giving children a voice' are really just terms used to make removal of parental rights from parents and adoption of those rights by the state sound palatable .
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[llondel]

What about when a child who is quite clearly competent stands up and states clearly that they do not want to be represented by HealthWatch?

[Elaine Kirk]

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Healthwatch would never let a situation like that develop!!
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Goodness could you imagine the scene if children were 'given a voice' on education??

[Earthtracer]

'Involving children', 'hearing children', 'giving children a voice' are really just terms used to make removal of parental rights from parents and adoption of those rights by the state sound palatable.

I was already thinking this before I came to where you made the comment! As for operating on a 13-year old without informing her GP or telling her parents - surely she should sue for assault or even GBH?

[pendlewitch]

I thought underage sex was illegal? I thought that parents could find themselves in hot water for condoning their children indulging in under age sex. How can schools get away with something that a parent might be prosecuted for?

[Earthtracer]

Apparently the little tart wantedto have the implants. Her mother 'is proud of her'... No wonder society is so screwed up! (No pun really intended).

[Elaine Kirk]

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I was trying to find a report I read where parents were absolutely livid, strange how it has disappeared and we just get the 'positive' methinks I need to scour my history and find original

[pendlewitch]

Did we eradicate AIDS then? Back in the late 80s when I was a teenager condoms were being pushed like nobody's business. Did I miss something?

[Elaine Kirk]

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Here we have it Earthtracer the report I saw in the media in Southampton before msm started publishing the sanitised story with it's positive message
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from the

Southern Daily Echo

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HOW many children aged between 11 and 16 are receiving contraceptive implants in school without their parents’ knowledge?

That is the question being posed by one furious mum who said it was “morally wrong” to fit the 4cm device into her 13- year-old daughter’s arm, claiming it led to serious mood swings and weight gain.

She said even the girl’s doctor had not been informed and her daughter’s friends had also received them while other parents were frantically inspecting their children’s arms...more...

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[Polly]

pander

Pronunciation: /ˈpandə/
verb
[no object] (pander to)

gratify or indulge (an immoral or distasteful desire or taste or a person with such a desire or taste): newspapers are pandering to people’s baser instincts

noun
dated

a pimp.
archaic a person who assists the immoral desires or evil designs of others: the lowest panders of a venal press

Origin:

late Middle English (as a noun): from Pandare, the name of a character in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde (see Pandarus). The verb dates from the early 17th century

I can't help thinking that schools/health workers behaving in this manner, without the parents' knowledge is overstepping their remit by a very large margin, and certainly brings into question their reasons for doing so