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.

At just six years old, a leukaemia diagnosis could have dimmed anyone’s light but for Khianna Lucas-Young, it became the spark that lit a lifetime of advocacy, horses, and hope.

In this episode of Leadership Conversations, I welcome the unstoppable Khianna Lucas-Young. Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at just six, enduring two and a half years of chemotherapy, a heartbreaking relapse at twelve, and emerging as a national equestrian champion, fundraiser, and youth advisor to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Khianna’s story is one of courage, humour, and unfiltered wisdom.

We explore turning personal battles into advocacy, the power of being heard as a young patient, and why mental health support must run alongside physical care.

What You’ll Learn

- Patient-Led Change: How Khianna’s lived experience is reshaping paediatric policies - simpler access, open communication, and parity between physical and mental health.

- Resilience Redefined: From relapse to riding triumphs, why knowing what to expect and feeling in control can transform the hardest journeys.

- Hope in Action: The three big lessons Khianna wants every healthcare professional to hearfrom catching the “mental volcano” early to removing hoops for families in crisis.

Khianna’s voice is a radiant reminder that leadership isn’t about age or title - it’s about turning adversity into advocacy and proving that even the youngest patients can light the way forward.

Connect with Healthcare Leadership Conversations

Instagram: instagram.com/healthleadershipconversations

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

Website: healthcareleadershipconversations.com

Healthcare Leadership Conversations is produced by Urban Podcasts.

What happens when healthcare steps out of the hospital and into the timeline?

In this episode of Leadership Insights, I reflect on my conversation with Joyce Omatseye, NHS clinician and digital advocate, to explore the transformative role social media can play in healthcare.

From breaking down stigma to mobilising communities, this conversation dives into the power of digital platforms to connect, educate, and inspire action within and beyond the NHS.

What You’ll Learn

- Digital Influence: How healthcare professionals can use social media to drive positive impact - not just engagement.

- Building Trust Online: The importance of authenticity and clear communication in a noisy digital world.

- Shifting the Narrative: How platforms like X, Instagram and TikTok can be used to challenge stereotypes and change the conversation around health.

This episode is a powerful reminder that leadership doesn’t only happen in boardrooms or clinics - it can also happen in your feed.

Follow Dr. Joyce Omatseye

Instagram: instagram.com/signed.drj

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joyce-omatseye

Aranini Health

Website: araninihealth.com

Instagram: instagram.com/aranini.health

Connect with Healthcare Leadership Conversations

Instagram: instagram.com/healthleadershipconversations

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

Website: healthcareleadershipconversations.com

Healthcare Leadership Conversations is produced by Urban Podcasts.