A scheme designed to help vulnerable young people has been praised for the impact it has made during its first year in Swindon.

The initiative supports individuals aged 11 to 25 who have been admitted to the Great Western Hospital's emergency department with mental health concerns, for substance misuse, or who are at risk of exploitation by criminal gangs.

The WAY Beacons, who are trained youth practitioners, engage with these individuals twice a week at the hospital, offering continued support even after their initial contact.

The serious violence duty co-ordinator for Wiltshire and Swindon, Natasha Gell, said: "In a space which can feel quite clinical, and with the formality of people in uniforms and titles and Latin names (of drugs) floating around, the WAY Beacons are someone for a vulnerable young person to connect to, someone that’s going to take a real interest in them and talk to them about what’s happened or is happening to them and not just ask what they have done.

"That’s the trauma-informed practice we're trying to bring into these spaces and recognising the importance of taking a child-first approach to our interactions with young people."

From August 2023 to June 2024, the WAY Beacons supported 66 young people, meeting them in informal settings such as coffee shops, fast food outlets, or bowling alleys.

Sam Lloyd, the project director at WAY, said: "WAY Beacons are trained youth practitioners who meet young people in hospital at that reachable moment and simply have a conversation and get to know them.

"By getting to know that young person, and crucially by taking time both in the hospital and out in the community and taking an interest, we can journey alongside them towards positive change, whatever that looks like."

The scheme has significantly reduced the number of young people re-attending A&E, with 79 per cent of the 55 per cent of repeat attenders not returning since receiving support.

Senior sister on the children's ward at the Great Western Hospital, Kaylea Martin, said: "I’ve been working here for 14 years, and we’ve never had a scheme like this within the hospital.

"The young people sometimes see a uniform as a barrier, and that we’re there to see them only from a medical point of view, which isn’t always the case.

"WAY Beacons have come in and the young people see them as being completely for them, even though the WAY Beacons still work closely with us."