Championing young people's health

In the past, 20-year-old Arroun Hafiz had some bad experiences trying to get treatment from his GP. "I said, 'I don't feel well' and he gave me loads of attitude, so I shouted at him and got barred from the surgery. I can't help it, I've got anger problems," he says. "There's been loads of GPs like that. You go in and they don't really bother with what you say."

But since visiting a drop-in health clinic at the Young People's Advisory Service (YPAS) in Liverpool, Arroun has fared far better.

The clinic was introduced in October 2013 as one of 10 pilot schemes under the GP Champions project, a three-year Department of Health-funded initiative to improve health services for young people by partnering practices with voluntary sector organisations (see below). The idea is to find new ways of delivering young people-friendly services that break down perceived barriers to accessing primary care. It is run by national charities the Association for Young People's Health and Youth Access, alongside the Royal College of Physicians' adolescent health group.