“I didn’t know I had health rights before. Now I do — and I want to help other children know too.” – Health Rights Defender, age 12.
As we prepare to celebrate 50 years of Children’s Health Scotland on 2 October, we are reflecting on what children and young people have told us matters most to them in healthcare. Again and again, they tell us they want to be listened to, involved, informed and respected. When that happens, they feel safer, more confident and more in control. Simply put, they feel calmer.
For fifty years, Children’s Health Scotland has worked alongside children, young people and families to improve healthcare experiences across Scotland. Today, through our Health Rights Service and our growing partnership with NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (NHS GG&C), we are helping to ensure that children’s rights are at the heart of healthcare and supporting NHS GG&C on its journey to becoming Scotland’s first #HealthRightsAware Health Board.
Quote from Rhianne Forrest, Officer for Children’s Health Scotland
Our partnership with NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde demonstrates what can be achieved when organisations come together around a shared commitment to children’s rights. Through years of collaboration within the Rights of the Child Group, we have built strong relationships founded on listening to children and young people and turning their experiences into meaningful action. The My Health, My Rights Charter is a powerful example of that partnership in practice. Together, we are helping to embed health rights across hospitals, schools and communities, creating a culture where children feel informed, involved and respected in decisions about their care. As NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde progresses towards becoming Scotland’s first #HealthRightsAware Health Board, we are proud to be part of that journey and excited about what we can achieve together in the future.
Creating Calm Through Health Rights
For many children and young people living with long-term health conditions, healthcare can sometimes feel overwhelming. Hospital visits, tests, procedures, waiting lists and appointments can create anxiety, particularly when children do not understand what is happening or feel unable to participate in decisions about their care.
Our Health Rights Defenders have helped us understand that one of the best ways to reduce this anxiety is through knowledge, participation and rights. When children know they have the right to information, the right to have their views heard and the right to be involved in decisions affecting them, healthcare becomes less frightening and more empowering.
This understanding led to the creation of our My Health, My Rights Charter, co-produced with children and young people living with long-term health conditions. Since the incorporation of the UNCRC into Scots Law, the Charter has become a cornerstone of our Health Rights Service, helping children understand their rights and supporting professionals to embed them into everyday practice.
Building Scotland’s First #HealthRightsAware Health Board
Thanks to the support of NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, our Health Rights Service has grown significantly over the past year, expanding its reach across hospitals, schools and communities. Together, we are working to ensure children’s rights are not only recognised but actively respected, protected and fulfilled.
At the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow, our monthly Health Rights Stalls have become a trusted and welcoming presence within the hospital atrium. Hundreds of children, families and staff have stopped by to access information, collect resources, ask questions and learn more about their health rights. Through these regular conversations, we are helping make children’s rights visible and accessible within the hospital environment.
Our partnership extends beyond information sharing. Working through the Rights of the Child Group, we have collaborated on plans for a creative and interactive My Health, My Rights poster within the Royal Hospital for Children. The aim is simple but powerful: to help children learn about their rights as they make their way through the hospital, turning everyday spaces into opportunities for empowerment and participation.
Helping Staff Create Calmer Healthcare Experiences
Children consistently tell us that they feel calmer when professionals listen, explain things clearly and include them in conversations about their care. That’s why training healthcare professionals is such an important part of our work.
Over the past year, we have delivered My Health, My Rights training and rights-based practice workshops to NHS staff, student nurses, psychologists, health workers and allied health professionals across NHS GG&C. These sessions help professionals understand what children’s rights look like in practice and how they can make a meaningful difference to children’s experiences of healthcare.
One NHS GG&C Specialist Nurse described the impact of the training and Charter by saying:
The Charter is a brilliant tool. It’s helped me think differently about how I speak to children and how I involve them in decisions about their care.
This feedback captures exactly what we are trying to achieve. When healthcare professionals communicate in child-friendly ways, provide clear information and create opportunities for participation, children feel more respected and confident. This not only upholds their rights but helps create calmer and more positive healthcare experiences.
Health Play, Storytelling and Reducing Anxiety
Another key part of creating calm is ensuring children have access to information in ways they can understand.
One of our proudest achievements this year was the launch of Sandy Meets the Teddy Hospital, developed in partnership with NHS GG&C Health Play Specialists, Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity and Sandy’s family. Inspired by a real-life experience, the storybook uses play and storytelling to help children understand medical procedures in a way that feels safe, friendly and reassuring.
The book supports children’s right to information and participation while helping reduce fear and uncertainty before medical appointments and treatments. It has already become a valuable resource for the Teddy Hospital team.
As Melody, Health Play Specialist at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow, explained:
This book has been such a valuable resource for the Teddy Hospital. It helps us explain things in a way children understand, and it’s made a real difference in how they engage with us. It’s a brilliant example of how we can respect children’s rights by giving them the information they need — in a way that feels safe and fun.
Children’s Voices Leading the Way
At the heart of everything we do are our Health Rights Defenders.
These inspiring young people, all living with long-term health conditions, have spent the past year helping to shape campaigns, resources and policy. They have contributed to national consultations, helped inform the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Scotland report on community healthcare services, worked alongside the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland on waiting list experiences, and led discussions about expanding the My Health, My Rights campaign.
Their voices have also influenced healthcare professionals, policymakers and organisations across Scotland. Most importantly, they are helping other children understand that they have rights too.
Looking Towards Our 50th Birthday
As Children’s Health Scotland approaches its 50th anniversary on 2 October, we are proud of how far we have come, but we are even more excited about what lies ahead. For five decades, we have championed children’s health and wellbeing. Today, that legacy continues through innovative partnerships, rights-based practice and the voices of children and young people themselves
Working alongside NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, we are expanding the reach of the My Health, My Rights campaign across the health board. Plans include using the Charter, report and resources to educate staff and communities, developing creative rights-based displays within hospital settings and delivering Health Rights Education together in schools.
This #BeCalm Wednesday, we celebrate the simple truth that children have shared with us:
When children understand what is happening, know their rights and feel heard, they feel calmer.
As we look towards our 50th birthday and beyond, we remain committed to creating a Scotland where every child knows their rights, every family feels supported and every healthcare experience is grounded in dignity, participation and respect.
Because when children know their rights, they can face healthcare with confidence — and that is one of the greatest gifts we can give them. 💜
DO YOU WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN OUR HEALTH RIGHTS SERVICE?
You can email Rhianne on CYPHRS@childrenshealthscotland.org if you would like to know more
