Post by Hanin Salem

Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at the 30th anniversary conference of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), opening the plenary session alongside incredible young people, healthcare professionals, and advocates committed to shaping the future of child health. One of the central messages from my talk was simple: “Listening once is not the same as listening always.” As someone who has experienced healthcare both as a patient and now as a healthcare student and youth advocate, I spoke about the importance of ensuring that children and young people are not treated as passive recipients of care, but as active partners in shaping it. Over the past decade, RCPCH &Us has helped create a real shift in healthcare engagement - from involving young people occasionally, to recognising that meaningful engagement improves services, trust, experiences and outcomes. Alongside the main conference, we also held the Youth Conference, bringing together over 100 young people from charities and schools across the UK including Young Epilepsy and Healthwatch Leeds to discuss key themes including transition, the digital world, neighbourhood health, and mental health. It was incredibly inspiring to see the insight and innovation that young people brought into these conversations. After volunteering with RCPCH &Us for the past two years, this conference felt particularly meaningful. There were moments of reflection and celebration, but above all, it was a reminder that the future of child health is not something we wait for. It’s something we build together. #RCPCH2026 #YouthVoice #ChildHealth #Paediatrics #PatientVoice #HealthcareLeadership #RCPCH26