King’s College Hospital is based in an area of significant poverty in South East London. As the local trauma centre, it principally serves the diverse populations of Lambeth and Southwark, both of which rank amongst the most deprived areas in the UK.

Research has clearly shown that the increasing numbers of young people who are accessing accident and emergency units rather than primary care facilities would both prefer and benefit from the provision of dedicated youth-friendly care within these units.  In this context, Redthread and King’s Accident and Emergency Department jointly founded the Youth Violence Prevention Project in 2006. This is a pioneering service for adolescents that aims principally to decrease the impact and likelihood of destructive patterns of behaviour that are harmful to young people’s health and wellbeing, particularly cycles of violence related to gang activity. For young people who are involved or who are likely to become involved in gangs, Redthread provides holistic support in order to reduce the traumatic effects of violent incidents and try to encourage individuals to break away from gang culture. Operating from a small room adjacent to the accident and emergency ward, Redthread’s strategies include:

-offering a youth-friendly, discrete space in the King’s trauma centre that makes adolescents feel more comfortable and confident to access healthcare advice

-giving young people the opportunity to discuss any issues and concerns that they may have with an experienced youth worker

-providing clear information and advice about health issues that are particularly relevant to young people

-signposting young people to secondary care, organisations and practitioners who may be able to support them, such as counsellors and drug and alcohol services

-promoting events that adopt a positive approach towards helping and empowering young people

Since establishing the King’s Youth Violence Project in 2006, Redthread has formed a tight partnership with the accident and emergency team and have become an integral part of the hospital’s child safeguarding multidisciplinary team, offering their expertise and services to help the team to fulfil its aim to ‘reduce teen deaths and serious woundings’ by identifying and reaching out to those who are most vulnerable.

Recently the Youth Violence Projected featured in the Home Office’s Ending Gang and Youth Violence report.  You can read more about that on our blog as well as a copy of a letter that John wrote to the Guardian in response to the report.

What people say:

The work that Redthread does at King’s can help to re-engage young people who have become detached from mainstream society and could well be getting involved in the Criminal Justice system.  By helping turn young people’s lives around at this point, the cost savings they make to society are un-calculable.

Andy Stranack, Community Worker