What happens when a teenager who has beaten leukaemia twice sits down with paediatric leaders and quietly rewrites the rules of healthcare?

In this Leadership Insights episode, I reflect on the overwhelming response to Khianna Lucas Young’s story and distil the powerful lessons it offers every healthcare leader. Drawing from Khianna’s lived expertise and four years co-chairing the RCPCH & Young People’s Engagement Committee, she lays out a crystal-clear manifesto for authentic youth partnership that’s grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

What You’ll Learn

- The UNCRC Isn’t Optional: Why every child’s right to be heard isn’t polite add-on language; it’s a legal and moral imperative that makes care safer and more humane.

- Small Choices, Big Impact: How giving young patients even tiny moments of control (from being spoken to directly to choosing a plaster) rebuilds agency and trust.

- From Tokenism to Transformation: Real-world ways to embed youth voice: co-produced pathways, youth advisory panels with actual power, young people’s budgets, and rights-based training for clinicians.

Khianna’s voice, alongside the groundbreaking RCPCH standards, proves that the future of compassionate, equitable healthcare isn’t designed for young people; it’s designed with them.

Connect with Healthcare Leadership Conversations

Instagram: instagram.com/healthleadershipconversations

LinkedIn (Dr. Mo Akindolie): linkedin.com/in/dr-mo-akindolie

Website: healthcareleadershipconversations.com

Episode Resources

unicef.org.uk/what-we-do/un-convention-child-rights/

linkedin.com/in/emma-sparrow-engagement-specialist/

rcpch.ac.uk/resources/engagement-standards

ayph.org.uk/

Healthcare Leadership Conversations is produced by Urban Podcasts.