Plans to produce a ‘survival kit’ for vulnerable teenagers leaving care and living alone have been given the thumbs-up by health chiefs.

The Dorset’s New Adults (DNA) kit idea won Dorset HealthCare’s annual staff innovation competition, Dragons’ Den, securing £3,000 for an initial 100 boxes to help 18-year-olds remain independent and healthy.

Each box – which will help set young adults on the ‘right path’ – contains food, vitamins, hygiene and health products, a blanket, plus information signposting people to a range of advice and support.

The kit is the brainchild of Abi Clark and Ele Jarrett from the trust’s Looked After Children’s Health Team.

They pitched the idea alongside former Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) service user Nikita, who explained that leaving the security and support of care at 18 can be a “scary and uncertain” time.

She said such a box would “wrap a hug around you on your first night alone”.

The proposal was one of five shortlisted for the Dragons’ Den final following a public vote which saw almost 1,000 people choose their favourites.

Trust chairman Andy Willis, who chaired the panel of ‘Dragons’, said the quality of all the proposals was outstanding.

He added: “I think the ideas our teams are putting

forward are increasingly innovative, with more thought about how we can sustain them in the long term.

“We’re confident all these projects will make a real difference to improving the care and support we provide to our patients and service users. We really look forward to seeing these projects develop over the coming year.”

The ‘Dragons’ also decided to support other project ideas:

* Pedal Powered Professionals – £2,000 awarded to trial the use of electric bikes across the trust to help community nurses stay fit and healthy, reduce pollution and travel costs, and bypass traffic jams.

* Calm, healing, sensory garden – £2,000 will help establish a quiet outdoor space to mental health patients at Nightingale House in Bournemouth

* Trust in Trees – £2,000 will be used to plant fruit trees at sites across the trust, providing gardening activities to help with patient rehabilitation and fresh fruit to promote healthy eating.

* Little Steps – £1,000 awarded to help set up a regular peer support group in Dorset for people recovering from mental health problems, helping to combat loneliness and isolation, and reduce the risk of relapses.