The Eastern AHSN worked with Form the Future CIC to hold a hackathon at the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus for students interested in shaping local health services. The event gave young people the chance to develop innovative products or services that could benefit people with mental health issues in their community.
The event took the form of an Enterprise Day, which is an activity that Form the Future CIC hosts to help students exercise their creativity, innovation and teamworking skills whilst learning about entrepreneurship.
The event gave the Eastern AHSN an opportunity to recruit new youth members to the East of England Citizens’ Senate, which is a community group that works alongside NHS professionals to take decisions on healthcare in the region.
The young delegates heard from a variety of speakers who are involved with delivering or improving healthcare services in the region, including Kevin James, a patient leader in mental health. He shared his personal experience of living with mental health conditions, the difference it would’ve made to have been diagnosed earlier in his life and the difficulties accessing the right services in his area.
It’s been a fantastic event and I loved the freedom to come up with new ideas in a friendly, non-competitive environment.
Mikaela Sanderud,
Year 12 student, Comberton Sixth Form
