Using the NHS
Getting the best care from the NHS
Step this way for good and safe healthcare - that works for children and young people!
Your Right 
NHS Pledge
Click the boxes below…
Free
You will never have to pay. Even dentists and prescriptions are free while you are under 16, or up to 19 if you are in education.
For everyone
It doesn’t matter how old you are, whether you are a girl or a boy, if you are gay or straight, what colour or religion you are, or if you are disabled. Everyone can use the NHS and will be treated the same.
Good
NHS services should be clean, safe and help you be as healthy as possible. Staff should be properly trained and behave in the right way. There are inspectors who make sure everything is working properly.
Quick
You shouldn’t have to wait a long time to be seen by a doctor. There are maximum waiting times so your health does not get worse.
Child and young person friendly
All health professionals should know how to work with children and young people and if you have to stay in hospital, you should be able to stay with other young people your own age.
Research
The NHS will let you know if there are research projects you can take part in to test new types of treatment. Everything will be explained and it is your decision.
Treatment
The NHS will make sure you will get the best treatment for your condition based on evidence. This should be explained to you so you can make choices about what is right for you.
Access
If you need support or adjustments to use the services you need, the NHS must make this happen.
Thines' story
Thines
Every individual is as important as the last. It doesn’t matter if you are the Prime Minister’s daughter or son. It should be the same level of service, the same quality of care for everyone. No matter who you are or what background or what ethnicity or what disability or condition you have. There should be no difference.
But the quality of care depends on what GP you’ve got and what kind of access you have. My GP has one lift, and all the services are above the ground floor. I called them up and said ‘look, your lift is broken, I’m downstairs’. They were like ‘we apologise for the inconvenience, you can either come back tomorrow, or if things get worse go to A&E or call an ambulance. It’s like yeah but I don’t want things to get worse. I feel like any other person had gone in, they would have got that treatment. I just went home. I know from experience that if I don’t get treated it will get worse. The patient that you do send away, they have to live with that, I have to live with that.
To know that there are GPs and nurses who are able to see me, but they are not willing to see me just purely because I can’t get up a few flights of stairs - that just makes me furious.
I in my day-to-day life ignore my disability, my friends ignore my disability, my family ignore my disability. But I often find in the NHS, you know, every time that I mention it to someone it affects the way they treat me. I’m sort of being treated differently, being seen differently, being spoken to differently. Please don’t do that, just talk to me as if I am normal person - because that’s what I am! I want the NHS to help me forget that I have a disability at all. I want to be treated as my own person, that’s all part and parcel of what patients expect and what patients should get. And it’s enshrined in my rights as a patient.
What do NHS staff say?
"Its helpful for me if young people know what their rights are."
Dr Duncan Law
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Children in care
If you are in care the NHS needs to make sure you stay healthy. A doctor will talk to you about your health within 4 weeks of entering care. After this you will be given a Health Care Plan that will make sure you get all the healthcare support you need. The LAC nurse should explain what is in the Health Care Plan and what it means for you. You should be involved in the planning of your plan.
What about mental health?
These rights apply to mental health services, but there maybe rules about how you can access the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services. You can find out more about CAMHS here.
What about my parents and carers?
Your mum, dad or carers can help you use NHS services. But if you want to go by yourself, you can, and the NHS will help you do this. If you have to stay in hospital, you should be able to see your parents and carers as much as you want.
For more information about your rights click here.