Health MoTs for teenagers launched

Teenagers in four areas of England will be offered health MoTs from November, under a new pilot programme to make health services more attractive to young people.

The teenage health demonstration sites will offer adolescent health advice and information in places such as youth clubs and sport centres in a bid to make services more attractive and accessible. They were first mooted in last July’s youth green paper Youth Matters alongside proposals for personal health MoTs for children making the transition from primary to secondary school.

The sites in Bolton, Hackney, Northumberland and Portsmouth will be backed with £3.5m and run for two years. Each will pilot adolescent “life checks”, one of the commitments in January’s health and social care white paper Our Health, Our Care, Our Say.

“Improving the health and well-being of children and getting them interested in their own health is one of our biggest challenges,” said health minister Caroline Flint, launching the programme.

“By gaining a better understanding of teenagers’ needs and concerns, and consolidating our knowledge of what works, we hope to help to improve the public health of teenagers, including those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds and those from ethnic minority groups.”