Accessing healthcare
Your personal adviser can:
- help you register with a GP
- attend appointments with you when needed
- give advice and guidance on who can help you with sexual health, healthy teeth, drugs and alcohol
- help you with information on how to access prescriptions
- support you when you are changing from children’s mental health services to adults
- putting you in touch with health services for young people such as the Essex Wellbeing Service
You can find advice on most health conditions on the NHS website.
What a health passport is and how it can help
Your looked after children's nurse will give you a health passport when you reach 18 years of age. It contains all your health information. This helps health professionals give you care that suits your needs.
If you lose it, ask your personal adviser to help you request another one.
Sexual health
To help you stay safe and look after yourself, there are many places in Essex where you can ask for advice and access healthcare.
You can access NHS services including STI testing, contraception, pregnancy tests from the Essex Sexual Health Service.
You can also get advice from services such as:
- Brook, a free and confidential sexual health and wellbeing service
- FPA- the sexual health company, who offer information on relationships, sexual health and postnatal health and wellbeing
Staying active
Your personal adviser will be able to help you access support through Active Essex.
This includes:
- discounted memberships for care leavers across Essex for leisure and gym facilities
- personal bursaries for care leavers to spend how you like to support you into activity
- opportunities to help care leavers get into community sport and physical activity
- signposting to free and low-cost opportunities across the county
- supporting care leaver groups which include physical activity
- work experience, volunteering and paid work in sport and physical activity
You can also search for local activities on the Active Essex website.
For workouts you can do at home, there are lots of videos on the Active Essex YouTube channel.
Avoiding smoking, drugs and alcohol
If you want to stop smoking, vaping, using drugs or alcohol, there is support for you.
For smoking and vaping can speak to your GP, or check out the NHS Quit Smoking tools.
You can look at your current drinking and how it can affect your health on Drinkaware.
If you have questions about drugs, you can find honest, non-judgemental information from Frank.
Essex Young People's Drug and Alcohol Service can support under 25s with addiction.