Getting health services right for 16–25 year-olds

Abstract

The 2019 NHS England Long Term Plan set out the ambition to work across the 0–25 age range to support children and young people as they make the transition to early adulthood. Within this broad age bracket, how do we ensure we get health services right for 16–25 year-olds including the transfer to adult services? In this paper, we explore the evidence supporting youth-friendly and developmentally appropriate healthcare approaches and what these mean in practice for young people and healthcare professionals. Examples from primary and secondary care, as well as the perspectives of a young person, illustrate the challenges and solutions.

Trends in hospital admissions during transition from paediatric to adult services for young people with learning disabilities or autism: population-based cohort study

“…Although age at transition is likely to vary between services and regions, it usually occurs between ages 16–18 years old (except for some very specialist care and early adopters of young person pathways covering care until 25th birthday). 23 We therefore defined time before, during and after transition as ages 10–15, 16–18 and 19–24 years old, respectively, 24 to reflect the typical configuration of transition services in England.…”