Teenagers’ needs are not being met by Britain’s hospital system, a new report reveals today.
Teenagers’ needs are not being met by Britain’s hospital system, a new report reveals today.
Despite on going pressure to improve health services for young people, the study of more than 400 youngsters aged 13-18 years and NHS nurses shows that only one in ten teenagers has been nursed in a dedicated adolescent hospital ward.
And nurses are struggling to care for their teenage patients – more than half admitted to difficulties in meeting their needs.
The report, published by Norwich Union Healthcare, reinforces the urgent need for public and private hospitals to develop specific facilities for teenage patients and for nurses to be adequately trained in adolescent care.
The study reveals that the average nurse spends approximately 20 per cent of his or her time managing teenage patients. Yet only one in five nurses has had any specific training in nursing adolescent patients. And an overwhelming 85 per cent support the development of adolescent hospital wards and 65 per cent support the introduction of a patients’ charter specifically for teenage patients.
Dr Russell Viner, consultant in adolescent medicine at University College London Hospitals and Gt Ormond Street Hospital, said: “This study shows that the time is ripe for the health service to change the way young people are cared for in hospital.
“As a nation we are still lagging behind other countries on the provision of teenage healthcare, and too often teenagers are nursed in children’s or adult wards even though their needs are very different. We hope this report will add to the pressure to improve health services for young people in both the private and public healthcare systems.”
Norwich Union Healthcare’s study shows:
- 44 per cent of adolescent patients are nursed on a children’s ward, while a third are nursed on an adult or general ward
- Nine out of ten nurses find it difficult to know which ward to admit teenage patients to
- More than one-third of adolescent patients admitted to feeling lonely or isolated during their hospital stay and 25 per cent said they felt embarrassed at times
- Nine in ten teenagers support the introduction of specific adolescent units in hospitals, compared to 85 per cent of nurses
- 70 per cent of teenagers support the development of a separate charter for adolescent patients. Two thirds of nurses support its development
- A quarter of nurses say communication problems make meeting adolescent patient’s needs difficult, and 14 per cent say it’s due to a lack of training.
Norwich Union Healthcare’s research report, which involved consultation with Dr Viner and healthcare experts at the Middlesex Hospital in London, recommends that more hospitals should be working towards meeting the needs of teenage patients – whether it be the establishment of a specific unit or a multidisciplinary team with an expertise in adolescent healthcare.
It also calls for increased medical training to enable professionals to interact with and understand the complex needs of this age group and the development of an Adolescent Patient’s Charter.
David Rogers, managing director for Norwich Union Healthcare, said: “Evidence suggests that teenagers who stay in an adolescent ward may recuperate more quickly than those who stay in a children’s or adult ward. As a result, we encourage healthcare professionals to make hospital and community health services for adolescents a priority.”
-ends-
Notes to editors
- Norwich Union Healthcare commissioned research amongst 212 nurses and 200 teenagers in September 2001
- Norwich Union Healthcare was founded in 1990 as the healthcare arm of Norwich Union and now provides a range of income protection and private medical insurance products to around 675,000 customers. It is one of the largest providers of income protection and private medical insurance in the UK.
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