7.7 Making health facilities more youth friendly
As such, there are not many top-level policies, programmes, projects or initiatives that specifically aim to make health facilities more youth friendly. However there are initiatives that have been introduced to facilitate things, such as the introduction of free WiFi in public hospital areas, and for example the completely confidential and anonymous/un-identifiable nature of the Genito-Urinary Clinic which helps youths to feel more secure.
The Young People’s unit at Mount Carmel Hospital opened its doors to adolescents with facilities which are more conducive to the wholesome well-being of these young adolescent patients, as one of a number of initiatives that have been under way to give equal priority to mental and physical health. The new facility has separate dormitories for male and female patients and a recreational area, including open-air spaces. The plan behind this was to change the outdated system at the young people’s unit, which is set up in an asylum format in an old house to that of an acute ward whose indoor environment is more therapeutic and youth friendly.