Alex: The School

Specialist Mental Health nurse Dorcas Gwata reveals the impact of London’s gang culture on young people’s mental health.

Here she tells the story of Alex – a young man who has gone to great lengths to keep himself safe at school – and is about to be excluded from mainstream education.

Written by Dorcas Gwata
Abridged by Jude Ho
Read by Josette Bushell-Mingo
Produced by Lu Kemp
A BBC Audio Scotland Production.

Drawing on her own experience of loss and social injustice, and twenty-five years on the NHS frontline, Dorcas offers a bird’s-eye view of London; its multicultural population, wealth inequalities, tireless healthcare professionals, and an NHS that doesn’t always work for everyone. A story of uncomfortable truths about British society, The Street Clinic is a story of resilience, strength and, ultimately, hope.

Dorcas Gwata is an award-winning nurse specialising in mental health, a Global Mental Health consultant and an advisor at Global Health Partnerships. She is an Accident and Emergency specialist nurse and has worked within multi-agency teams in the UK and with global health partnerships focusing on African and Asia.

Her work with young people and families affected by gang culture in London grew out of innovative evidence-based research in low-income countries extrapolated to high-income countries, improving mental health outcomes in vulnerable groups whilst addressing health inequalities in the UK.