Youth Takeover Day 2019

Students learning resuscitation techniques from our nursing team

Young people took over Evelina London for a day as part of a national event.

More than 15 children and teenagers, including patients and students from secondary schools in Southwark and Lambeth, were given the opportunity to run parts of Evelina London during the Takeover Challenge. 

The Takeover Challenge is a national event led by the Children’s Commissioner for England, which gives young people the chance to shadow jobs, get involved in decision making and offer their opinions on key issues.

Janet Powell, director of nursing at Evelina London, said: “We were delighted to take part in the Takeover Challenge. All the young people who took part should feel really proud of themselves for sharing their ideas and contributing to how Evelina London is run.

“It’s really important that the services we run meet the needs of our young patients, and that we are supporting our local community. Taking part in the Takeover Challenge is a great way of ensuring that we’re doing that. We want young people to know that their views and ideas can and do make a real difference.”

Participants spent time with our cardiology nursing team where they practiced changing dressings, monitoring vital signs and resuscitating a baby using a manikin.They also shadowed our communications team and were able to tweet updates from the event using Evelina London's official Twitter account. Activities also included a takeover of the hospital’s radio station, Radio Lollipop, and shadowing our play specialists and researchers.

Payvin, 15, an Evelina London patient and pupil in Westminster, said: “I decided to come to learn new skills and find out what it’s like to work for a hospital. I learnt how to use social media and write news stories.

“There is much more going on behind the scenes at a hospital than I realised. I would recommend this day to other young people to get a greater understanding of working for a children’s hospital.”

The day finished with a special celebration event where the children and teenagers were presented with certificates for taking part in the Takeover Challenge.