Minutes:
The Board received a report that described the work that was taking place in Halton to improve children and young people’s emotional health and wellbeing, which was being lead through the Children and Young People’s Emotional Health and Wellbeing Board.
It was reported that poor mental health was one of the biggest social issues in England today, representing up to 23% of the total burden of ill health and was the largest single cause of disability. Locally, improving mental health and wellbeing had been identified as a priority for ‘One Halton’ and the Health and Wellbeing Board.
It was noted that one in four people would experience a mental health problem at some point in their life and around half of people with lifetime mental health problems experienced their first symptoms by the age of 14. The promotion of good mental health and early intervention could help to prevent mental illness from developing and mitigate its effects when it did.
The report went on to discuss a number of risk factors that increased the vulnerability of children and adolescents with mental health problems and specifically those in Halton. The Governments aspirations by 2020 were also presented.
Members were advised that Halton CCG was the lead accountable body for the commissioning of Young People’s mental health and it worked in partnership with the Local Authority’s Children’s Services and Public Health. The aims of the service in Halton were outlined in the report with the achievements to date.
Members made the following observations following the presentation of the report:
Is there a
waiting list for CAMHS (Children and Adult Mental Health Service)?
As there is a
single point of access to the service, there is a backlog at the front
end. Five Boroughs Partnership
(5bps) would be meeting on 8 February 2017 to discuss ceasing the
current CART arrangements and introducing a single tier service that will be
Halton specific.
What are schools
doing to promote resilience and support?
Some schools were
more actively engaged than others and some need to upskill in certain
areas. Each school was provided with a
‘contact practitioner’ who was available to advise schools on the services
available through CAMHS. Additionally,
the nurture programme was being promoted in schools and this was being used to
encourage resilience in children.
Were schools
sharing best practice in the area of CAMHS?
Yes they were.
The resources
and finances were available but schools need the right approach to CAMHS, like
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy CBT – can a universal offer be enforced in
schools?
The attachment
element was being focussed on as it was important to identify this at the
beginning. The midwifery service was
being worked with and the health visitor offer was available up to 28 weeks
after birth, to establish if any help was needed. If it was, then the client would be referred
to other services.
What was being
done to help young people through life to ensure there were no mental health
problems?
We try not to over medicalise
situations as many young people have common issues that were resolved mostly by
talking and sharing problems and getting advice, without any need for
intervention. Online services were
available in the first instance as a self-help tool, such as forums etc. These online tools were monitored and any
information submitted by an individual that was deemed to require further
intervention, would be flagged up.
How was a CAMHS
primary school child transferred to a secondary school when they move up?
CAMHS follows the
child up to the age of 18 so it would be an automatic transition as the Council
would know which school the child had been admitted to.
The Chair commented that as most Elected Members were governors of
schools, that they could be encouraged to raise awareness of CAMHS in their
schools and the services available to them.
One Member commented that blockages occurred at the top end of the
service where a client needed a psychological referral but was put on a waiting
list; thus affecting the capacity at the entry point of the service.
The Board was also advised that a workforce plan was being developed mid
Mersey wide, to address a largely aging workforce within the service.
The Chair requested an update on this topic at a future meeting of the Board with discussions around pilots included and stated that information on goals settings and outcomes would be useful.
RESOLVED: That the Board notes the contents of the report.
Supporting documents: