Agenda item
Children & Young People's Mental Health Services Scrutiny Challenge Session
Presentation from Daniel Kerr (Strategy, Policy & Performance Officer)
This report highlights the challenge session which brought together representatives from the council, Tower Hamlets CCG, Tower Hamlets CAMHS, and community organisations to explore the level of provision and the performance of children and young peoples’ mental health services in Tower Hamlets.
Minutes:
Councillor Amina Ali, Chair of the Health Scrutiny Panel presented the report. The report highlighted the challenge session which brought together representatives from the Council, Tower Hamlets CCG, Tower Hamlets CAMHS and community organisations to explore the level of provision and the performance of children and young people’s mental health services in Tower Hamlets. The Panel noted the following recommendations of the Health Scrutiny Panel Challenge Session on Children & Young People’s Mental Health Services -
Recommendation1:
That the Council and Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group (THCCG) work with the voluntary and community sector to support and strengthen early intervention services in the Borough.
Recommendation 2:
That the Council, CCG, specialist CAMHS and local services raise awareness of mental health issues, before children and young people reach specialist services, by promoting patient stories and examples of what mental health issues can turn into, with particular focus on BME communities.
Recommendation 3:
That the Council ensure all frontline professionals who come into contact with children regularly or/and in a professional capacity (not just mental health professionals) are able to identify children with mental health issues and know what to do once they have identified a vulnerable child.
Recommendation 4:
That the Council reviews the data it holds on care leavers and pregnancy to investigate if there is a link between care leavers, teenage pregnancy and mental health issues.
Recommendation 5:
That the Council undertakes further work with young care leavers to educate them on sexual health.
Recommendation 6:
As part of any future re-fresh of the Local Transformation Plan; the Council, CCG and partner agencies consider how services can be improved for children and young people who are in contact with the criminal justice services, and who have a higher vulnerability to mental health problems.
Recommendation 7:
That the Council and THCCG strengthen engagement and training for CAMHS service users to empower them with the skills and knowledge to effectively contributes to service development.
Recommendation 8:
That the THCCG work with CAMHS to review GP training in children and young people’s mental health, including raising awareness of referral pathways for service users.
Recommendation 9:
That the Council, THCCG, and Tower Hamlets CAMHS work with community leaders to improve cultural understanding of mental health and raise awareness of the services in place to support residents with a mental health need.
Recommendation 10:
That the Council, THCCG and CAMHS undertake work to reduce the stigma of mental health including rebranding and renaming services.
Recommendation 11:
That CAMHS consider ways to make the service more accessible through reviewing their workforce to ensure it is reflective of the community.
Recommendation 12:
That the Council, THCCG and CAMHS improve engagement with children and families in order to increase awareness of mental health in all communities in the borough.
Recommendation 13:
That the Council undertakes an audit to check the usage and success of the CAF system in Children Centres and other universal services.
Recommendation 14:
That the Council and THCCG raise awareness about mental health and support services amongst non-MH staff working with young people to improve accessibility to appropriate support.
The Panel considered the report and commented as follows –
· The recommendations are general and the action plan will need to be detailed and service specific.
· Recommendation 9 requires more information including how it is intended to improve cultural understanding and raise awareness.
· Recommendation 3 and 13 needs to include information on youth services.
RESOLVED THAT:
1. The presentation and report be noted.
2. The additional proposed changes to the recommendations be received and noted.
Supporting documents:
- 3.4 - Report CAMHS, item 5.1 PDF 58 KB
- 3.4a - Children's Mental Health Scrutiny Challange Session Report, item 5.1 PDF 421 KB