Summary

The Corner is a youth drop-in clinic located in Dundee. It provides a range of confidential health and information services as well as contraception and pregnancy testing for young people aged 11-25. It also offers information on issues that may impact on health and wellbeing such as:

• Housing
• Money
• Employment
• Drugs
• Alcohol
• Mental health

Background

The Corner was one of the first projects in Scotland to develop a practice based around young people's needs. The Dundee-based service was set up in 1996 to provide informal and confidential health and information services to young people on a drop-in basis.

Why set up the service?

The Corner’s manager Pete Glen says that young people's reluctance to use existing primary care services was one of the main reasons The Corner was set up.

Pete says: “The figures for teenage pregnancy, HIV, and STIs were shooting up and young people weren't using frontline services. We have found that young people respond really well to integrated services when they know about confidentiality."

Who is involved in the service?

The Corner evolved through a partnership between:

• NHS Tayside Health Board
• Dundee City Council
• Scottish Government

Besides Pete, The Corner employs Fiona McGrath (a health services link worker) to help young people influence primary care provisions across Tayside. The Corner is now seen as a centre of excellence in Scotland.

Designing the service

Pete says that the pace of change within the NHS has been partly to blame for a lack of progress in creating youth-friendly services and environments:

"Over the years we have found that the theory in terms of partnership working and a holistic approach has gathered momentum, but the services are quite far behind, some more than others."

Pete adds that an unwelcoming environment can put young people off before they have even spoken to staff running primary care services:

"As adults we can feel quite uncomfortable in these venues. So how must a young person feel? It's not rocket science. There is a lot to be done to try to bridge the gap.”

Outcomes and future developments

The Corner provides a wide range of confidential health and information services for young people aged 11-25, including contraception and pregnancy testing. It also offers information on issues that may impact on health and wellbeing.

Pete adds that its success lies in putting young people's views at the heart of its work:

"The reason we are still here is because of the partnership with the council and the health board, and more importantly, because we have kept connected to young people and kept asking them what they are looking for."

Contact details

For further information:

• Email Pete Glen
• Email Fiona McGrath
• Visit The Corner’s website (external link)
• Phone The Corner on 01382 20 60 60