Working with young people on the new Rouse Hill Hospital

In some of the quieter spaces of the Westmead Education and Conference Centre (WECC), The Rouse Hill Hospital team and the WSLHD Youth Council work together to give a voice to young people in the planning and design of the new Rouse Hill Hospital.

The WSLHD Youth Council, comprised of young people aged between 16 and 24, provide consumer input into a range of projects across the district ensuring the voices of adolescents and young adults is included in planning for health services. 

The Youth Council have helped to shine a light on some of the most important health needs and considerations on the minds of young people so the project and design teams can consider solutions as part of the ongoing planning and design process. 

Our Youth Council have said that we need to cater for all people in an inclusive way, across the age spectrum, of multicultural and diverse backgrounds. They’ve called out youth mental health and social needs as well as bringing up issues of confidentiality and cultural safety. The council is also advising the project team on some of the best ways to engage with young people for a better understanding of how to navigate the health services available to them. 

The group have provided their perspectives on traffic and transport availability and options, architectural design internally and externally, and wayfinding. 

“These conversations are focussed on plans for the Rouse Hill Hospital but the feedback we’re hearing from our group is so relevant to the district’s health ecosystem and range of services that we provide across the district, including our existing youth health services, ’ said Sarah Young, convenor of the WSLHD Youth Council and Youth Transition Officer . 

“Feeling culturally safe is such an important determiner for young people accessing health services so being able to advise the new hospital executives on what culturally safe means to adolescents and young people is invaluable. 

“The WSLHD Youth Council is a wonderful group of people that really care about helping others and representing other adolescents and young people in the community. The consultation is informing our model of care work and the planning and design process. It’s also helping us to consider how we can best continue engaging with adolescents and young people to ensure they have the best access to the health services that our new hospital will provide.” 

We heard that privacy is a key concern for adolescents and young people. They need to feel that their health information is confidential and that they will be respected and helped to navigate the health system through a ‘one-stop shop’ approach where there is ‘no wrong door’. In practice this means that we want our adolescents and young people to receive the help they need to navigate the health system from their first touchpoint with the district,’ said Julia Underwood, General Manager of Rouse Hill Hospital.

The Rouse Hill Hospital team will continue to work with the WSLHD youth council throughout model of care and design development work to ensure the youth voice is considered during all project planning stages.