Analysis: Practice - Health services - Teenage health servicesbegin to come of age

After months assembling partners and honing their services, the Government's adolescent health demonstration sites are poised to go live to young people. The pilot sites in Hackney, Portsmouth, Northumberland and Bolton could point to the future of teenage health provision.They aim to make health information and services accessible via a range of providers in surroundings in which 13- to 19-year-olds feel comfortable.

At Hackney in inner London, a network of health drop-in centres has been set up to combat the territorialism that stops many young people leaving their estates to access services. Jose Figueroa, public health consultant at City and Hackney Primary Care Trust, which is running the pilot, says: "For us the pilot is a combination of outreach work and establishing links with different areas."