Who Cares Trust

Being healthy and understanding your own health and development is important for all young people.

Being healthy covers things like what you eat, what exercise you do, how good you feel about yourself and being confident and happy. You need to know when and how you can get advice and help from professionals if you are feeling unwell or worried about your health.

Everyone’s body is different and all young people will have questions at some time or another about their aches and pains, whether things are working properly, what’s normal and what’s not.

It’s natural that as you become a teenager you will have questions about the way your body and personality is changing, and about sex and relationships. As you get older, you may also want to understand more about how drugs and alcohol affect your physical and mental health. You may have questions about things like self-harm or eating disorders.

For more information about looking after yourself visit our Health & Wellbeing Centre

Talking about health worries

Some looked after young people say that they feel uncomfortable talking to carers about health issues, particularly if they haven’t had time to build up a good trusting relationship with them.

But while you’re looked after it’s really important to remember that there are people who want to help you and to answer any questions that you have. They should treat you with respect and do everything they can to help you not feel embarrassed.

Unless you are in danger of hurting yourself or possibly hurting other people, your questions will be treated in a confidential manner. Before sharing information with other people, a doctor or a nurse will ask your permission.

Getting checked out - your health assessments

Your health plan is part of your care plan. It will be written after you’ve been seen by a doctor or nurse and is meant to help make sure you are healthy and developing well while you’re looked after.

When you first become looked after you should be seen by a doctor or nurse who will write a report about your physical, emotional and mental health, and your family’s health background (like any health problems your mum or dad has). This is called a ‘health assessment’. This should ideally be done before you go to live in a new place, but if not then by the time of your first review (20 working days later) at the latest.

Copies of the report from the assessment will be given to you, your parents and carers and your IRO.

You should have health assessments once a year while you are looked after, and again if you are changing school. Children under five will have health assessments twice a year. You are allowed to say if you don’t want the health assessment.

Your carer and social worker must make sure you get all the health and dental treatment you need. Your health plan will include things like who your doctor and dentist are, and any changes which need to be made to that, for example because you are moving out of the area.