Developing an integrated primary health care and youth work service for young people in Lambeth: learning from the Well Centre
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCS-10-2015-0029 |
| Pages | 233-243 |
| Date | 19 September 2016 |
| Published date | 19 September 2016 |
| Author | Ann Hagell,Stephanie Lamb |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Children's services,Sociology,Sociology of the family,Children/youth,Parents,Education,Early childhood education,Home culture,Social/physical development |
Developing an integrated primary health
care and youth work service for young
people in Lambeth: learning from the
Well Centre
Ann Hagell and Stephanie Lamb
Ann Hagell is a Research Lead
at the Association for Young
People’s Health, London, UK.
Stephanie Lamb is based at
Herne Hill Group Practice,
London, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –Developing youth-friendly, flexible primary care is important because young people have specific
health needs but often feel nervous and uneasy when seeking appropriate help. The Well Centre in South
London is an innovative adolescent health one-stop-shop, jointly designed and developed by Redthread
(a youth work charity) and the Herne Hill Group Practice (general practitioners). The purpose of this paper is to
summarise the experiences of implementing the model and provides a description of a sample of clients.
Design/methodology/approach –Drawing on routine data from the Well Centre’s medical and youth work
data systems, a service description and audit of patients using the centre during the three years fromOctober
2011 to December 2014 was provided, with a particular focus on the 368 new patients aged 13-20 years
attending between January and December 2014.
Findings –Results demonstrated the Well Centre’s success in drawing in patients from deprived
backgrounds who were less likely to be engaged with other health services, and who reflected a high level of
mental health problems. The Well Centre model tested the benefit of an integrated approach in recognising
and meeting the needs of young people. The real strength of the model lay in the good communications with
schools and the voluntary sector in the area.
Originality/value –The Well Centre is a unique intervention with potentially wide ramifications for how
primary health care is delivered to young people in inner city areas, and this paper represents the first
published information about its working methods and clientele.
Keywords Public health, Primary care, Young people, Health promotion, General practice,
Youth-friendly services, Youth work, Integrated services
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The Well Centre in South London is an innovative adolescent health one-stop-shop, jointly
designed and developed by Redthread (a youth work charity) and the Herne Hill Group Practice
(general practitioners, GPs). Launched in 2011, and situated in an annex to the Streatham Youth
and Community Trust building, the Well Centre provides young people with drop-in access to a
GP, nurse or youth worker. It combines the health expertise of the GPs with the informal
environment of a youth centre, and delivers an integrated and effective approach to meeting the
health care needs of young people. In this paper we describe the implementation of this new
service and the clients using it, in order to highlight the benefits and challenges for general
stakeholders who may be interested in a similar approach.
Received 20 October 2015
Revised 7 January 2016
Accepted 24 March 2016
Dr Stephanie Lamb is a GP at the
Well Centre. The study was funded
by the Nuffield Foundation.
DOI 10.1108/JCS-10-2015-0029 VOL. 11 NO. 3 2016, pp. 233-243, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-6660
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JOURNAL OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES
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