Agenda item

This report provides an update on the mental health services for children and young people in Bath and North East Somerset, an update on commissioning and strategic progress and a request for further support from the Local Authority to continue to prioritize mental health services for children and young people in Bath and North East Somerset.

Becky Proctor, CAMHS Participation Group addressed the Panel. She explained that she had been involved in the group for eight years and had worked on website development and resources for schools.

She informed the Panel that she had worked on topics such as reducing stigma, supporting friends, self-care and in and out of school support. She added that scenario packs and comics have been produced in relation to these topics. She said that all of the resources have been really well received.

Councillor Peter Turner asked if she had seen an increase in the need of such resources since her involvement in the group.

Becky replied that she felt that there were huge pressures young people these days and that they were more aware of the issue as a whole.

The PSHE & Drug Education Co-ordinator added that the SHEU survey showed that the main causes of stress were exams and social media (body image).

Councillor Liz Hardman commented that the resources that have been produced are fantastic.

The PSHE & Drug Education Co-ordinator said that they were a brilliant piece of work and used throughout schools. She added that they were also available online.

Councillor Tim Ball commented that there is a lack of support and literature for ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and children with mental health issues were not always comfortable with expressing their ideas. He added that the diagnosis of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) can take up to twelve months

Becky Proctor replied that when making the resources a wide range of people were consulted. She added that work was currently being done on different aspects of mental health.

Jake Bishop-Ponte added that the resources are also seen as a way of identifying children who might need help.

The Senior Commissioning Manager for Specialist Services added that there are 2 services that generally consider diagnoses - Community Paediatricians and the CAMHS service. The concerns raised around ADHD literature were acknowledged. She also recommended visiting the Young Minds website (http://www.youngminds.org.uk/) for further information.

The Senior Commissioning Manager for Specialist Services introduced the report to the Panel. She explained that in August 2015 NHS England announced additional funding and guidance to implement the Future in Mind report’s recommendations to improve CAMHS services. She said that to “draw down” these funds, each CCG was required to submit an agreed CAMHS Transformation Plan by October 2015. 

She stated that from April 2015 a number of developments to support the transformation plan began, including:

Pilot - Extended CAMHS support: for > 18 y/o’s who were receiving CAMHS interventions when they turned 18 and, although they are particularly vulnerable; do not meet the referral criteria for adult mental health services.  This cohort will include, but is not restricted to, Care Leavers and will provide intensive emotional support.

Pilot - School Based Counselling:  Independent counsellors have been commissioned to provide individual ‘drop in’ advice sessions and formal counselling sessions at seven secondary schools from September. 

Pilot - Mindfulness Pilot:32 members of staff from 2 secondary schools have undertaken an 8 week Mindfulness course. 2 staff from each school will now be trained to deliver Mindfulness in Schools sessions/resources directly to young people.

Eating Disorder Specialist service: Agreeing new service model with provider and neighbouring CCGs

She said that additional funding has been provided by NHS England for 2016/2017 and the priorities for the new spend have been identified in this paper. This increased investment has been welcomed.

Re-procurement of CAMHS after 31 March 2017

She informed the Panel that the current CAMHS contract runs to March 2017 and the service is provided by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.  She said the current  contract is led by Wiltshire CCG, and both CCGs benefit from the commissioning of specialist services across a greater population, (e.g. Eating Disorder and Learning Difficulties Services) as well as ‘out-of-hours’ cover.

She explained that the intention is to jointly recommission both primary (PCAMHS) and specialist CAMHS for a 5 (+2) year period across Wiltshire and B&NES.

She said that this involves aligning CAMHS and PCAMHS budgets from across Wiltshire CCG, Wiltshire Council and B&NES CCG and funding the new service under one contract, with Wiltshire CCG being the Lead Commissioner.  She added that Swindon CCG is also actively considering becoming a joint commissioner in this process and there are efficiencies in having a service that works across a wider geographical footprint and this joint commissioning model is in line with the local Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP).

She stated a range of stakeholders will be involved in the development of a new service delivery model for CAMHS (covering Wiltshire, Swindon and B&NES). She said this would include children, young people and their families and that professionals who work with children will also be involved from across health, education, social care and the voluntary and community sector.

Councillor Liz Hardman said that the option for self-referral for young people aged 16 and 17 was welcome. She asked what the timescales were generally between referral and assessment.

The Senior Commissioning Manager for Specialist Services replied that during 2015/16 the percentage of referrals assessed within 4 weeks was 95% for referrals to the Outreach service 54% for more routine CAMHS referrals and 73% for PCAMHS.  Urgent cases are usually seen within 24 hours.She added that there is an ambition for 90% of accepted routine referrals to be assessed within 4 weeks. 

The Panel RESOLVED to:

·  Note the progress of the 15/16 CAMHS Transformation Plan

·  Support the priorities being progressed within the CAMHS Transformation Plan for 2016/17

·  Note that targeted and specialist Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), currently provided by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT) are being re-commissioned jointly with Wiltshire and possibly Swindon CCGs/LAs in 2017.

·  Note the invitation to young people to engage with the re-procurement