Nationally there is concern over the quality of services commissioned for children and young people requiring mental health services. This has been encapsulated in the House of Commons Select Committee’s (Health Committee) 3rd report of 28th October 2014 concerning Children's and adolescents' mental health and CAMHS. The report stated:
‘There are serious and deeply ingrained problems with the commissioning and provision of Children's and Adolescents' mental health services. These run through the whole system from prevention and early intervention through to inpatient services for the most vulnerable young people”
for more information visit Parliament Publications website.
The NHS England “Model Specification for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Targeted and Specialist levels (Tiers 2/3)” sets out a clear framework for the development of services. It establishes that “all service specifications for CAMHS should sit within an agreed, integrated, strategic plan developed by multi-agency partnerships that takes account of the breath of services for children and young people”.
For more information visit the Child and Adolescent Mental Health (PDF document)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence have published clinical guidance and quality standards, including:
Department of Health and NHS England (2015) Future in Mind is the government’s report from the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce which was set up as a result of the Health Select Committees inquiry into CAMHS (Health Select Committee, 2014). The report sets out the government’s ambition for the improvement of CAMHS.
For more information visit Children's Mental Health PDF
Department of Health (2011) No Health Without Mental Health: A cross-Government mental health outcomes strategy for people of all ages (2011) sets out an ambition for putting mental health services on an equal footing to physical health services.
Department of Health (2010) Getting it right for children and young people: Overcoming cultural barriers in the NHS so as to meet their needs
The Marmot Review (2010) Fair Society, Healthy Lives: Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England
Mental Health Foundation (2015) Fundamental Facts About Mental Health
If you would more information visit Mental Health Foundation website
Promoting children and young people’s emotional health and wellbeing; a whole school and college approach (PHE, 2015)
Counselling in schools: a blueprint for the future; departmental advice for school leaders and counsellors (Department for Education, 2015).
Local Context
Berkshire completed a comprehensive engagement exercise about Berkshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) during spring 2014. Views were gathered from children and young people, parents and foster carers, staff who work in the service, GPs and others who refer into the service and others with an interest in the service.The results of this, including the findings and recommendations are available on the Berkshire Clinical Commissioning Groups’ (CCGs) websites.
Wokingham have developed a Joint CCG and LA Wokingham Emotional Health and Wellbeing Strategy setting out our need, demand for services, our range of provision, gaps and priorities for improvement. This strategy is informed by best practice and research and has been informed by the views of children young people, parents and carers and practitioners. The strategy and action plan aim to lead to better health outcomes by identifying a work programme for the 2015 to 2017 period that will resolve identified service delivery issues.
Wokingham Safeguarding Children Board (WSCB)
To ensure the WSCB is able to deliver its statutory responsibilities it must:
- Monitoring how well statutory agencies are carrying out their responsibility under section 11 of the Children Act 2004 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, including their safe staffing arrangements.
- Setting up and running a programme of multi-agency safeguarding training
- Drawing up and monitoring the implementation of WSCB inter-agency procedures
- Undertaking a Serious Case Review (SCR) when a child dies, and abuse or neglect is known or suspected to be a factor in the death; the purpose of SCRs is to establish the lessons to be learned from the case and how they will be acted upon, and as a consequence, improve inter-agency safeguarding of children
- Taking an overview of all child deaths (under 18 years) in the area, identifying any potentially contributory recurrent themes, circumstances, or possible limitations in service provision by one or more agencies.
More Information is available on the Wokingham Safeguarding Children Board website.