Staying healthy and happy

When you first come into care, and each year afterwards, you will be asked to have a general health assessment to make sure that you are healthy and for you to ask any questions you may have about your health. Your yearly health reviews will be carried out by a doctor, nurse or health visitor and will take the form of a discussion.

Designated Nurse for Looked After Children

As a looked-after young person you can tell your social worker or carer if you’d like to see a specific healthcare professional or you can contact the Designated Nurse for Looked After Children – Maggie Mackenzie – yourself. Maggie’s job is to make sure that you, your carers and your social worker have the information you need to keep you healthy.

You can call her on 01865 265015 or 07887 641 829, or you can e-mail her at maggie.mackenzie@nhs.net. You can call to ask for confidential advice or leave a message and Maggie will call you back as soon as she can.

You can always ask your social worker, foster carer or anyone else you trust to accompany you to any appointments if you’d rather not go on your own.

School nurses

School nurses help schools to keep their pupils healthy. They’re not at school all the time but they do come in to give advice and to help the pupils who have any health problems or issues, usually in drop-in sessions. Ask your school office to tell you who your school nurse and where and when the drop-in sessions are.

Young people's survival guide

Although this Oxfordshire guide is no longer printed, all the info is here on Oxcentric.  Check out these pages where you can get loads of health advice for young people, from risks like smoking and drinking alcohol, to staying happy and stable through stressful times and tips on what to eat and how to keep fit. You can also find practical information about what to do if you're not feeling well, how to get a GP and information about sexual health here.