Youth Navigator is a service for adolescents aged 12-16 who present to hospital with a wide range of complex social issues. Our youth work service model aims to support them to healthier lives through a combination of hospital and community based support. We currently run the service in the children's hospitals in NHS GGC and NHS Grampian.
Early in 2023 we'll start two pieces of pilot work involving Youth Navigators based in schools. We'll work alongside teachers and other school staff to support young people within the school community. The intention is to take prevention further upstream and try and prevent some of the issues young people may have before they cause them to need medical care.
We receive funding for Youth Navigator from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, CORRA, the Scottish Government Safer Communities Division and the Scottish Government Mental Health Division
We work with a wide range of partners in running Youth Navigator. Please get in touch if you have a service in any of the areas we work for young people that you think we should know about. Contact us on info@mav.scot and we'll be happy to come and have a chat
'I appreciate what you’ve both done for me, giving me someone to talk to and someone who won’t invalidate my feelings and genuinely help me is something I’ve always wanted. Thank you so much for being those people. You’ve really made a difference in my life"
Dr George Oommen is a Consultant in Paediatric and Adult Emergency Medicine in the Royal Hospital for Children and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
It's an exciting time for us to start up the Youth Navigator service in Glasgow as it coincides with the hospital becoming a Major Trauma Centre.