Children and Young People’s Mental Health Crisis
The Children and Young Peoples Mental Health Crisis Programme supports the delivery of the core clinical programmes within the Long Term Plan and the Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20 - 2023/24 (the Implementation Plan) by connecting commissioners, providers, professionals, patients and the public across pathways of care with the aim of improving health outcomes. This is achieved by sharing best practice and innovation, assessing and benchmarking quality and outcomes and driving improvement where required, through targeted support.
We also have our NHS Futures site where we store more clinically focused information. You can request to be a member of our workspace. Please follow this link.
What We Are Trying To Achieve
The Yorkshire and the Humber Clinical Network Crisis programme for Children and Young People is Jenna Wallhead, Quality Improvement Manager.
The Clinical Network aims to support local partners to achieve the priorities set out within the NHS Long Term Plan.This includes expanding timely and age-appropriate access to mental health crisis and intensive home treatment services, resulting in 100% coverage of 24/7 mental health crisis care provision for Children and Young People by 2023/24.
Why It’s Important
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, experts are warning of an increase in mental ill health. Pre-pandemic, around one in eight children and young people experienced mental health difficulties severe enough to warrant specialist support. More recent estimates suggest that this has increased to one in six (NHS Digital – see Closing the Gap in Child and Youth Mental Health Support – Insights from the North West 2021)
Improving the experience and outcomes of children and young people experiencing a mental health crisis is a national, local and Clinical Network priority.
What We Have Achieved In The Last 6 Months
- Established an All-Age Crisis and Liaison Community of Practice to facilitate shared learning, discussion and peer support on topics identified by system partners. Topics have included; S136 and Right Care, Right Person.
- Worked in partnership with Workforce, Training and Education (formerly Health Education England) to provide training opportunites for professionals around self-harm.
- Continued to work closely with the Regional and National Teams within NHS England to escalate any concerns raised by our Integrated Care Systems (ICS) and/or Place Based Leads and Providers.
- Liaised with Clinical Networks, ICSs, Place Based Leads and Providers across the country to learn from good practice models and interventions and facilitated shared learning events on topics such as crisis text messaging and Mental Health Response Vehicles (MHRVs).
Meetings and Events
All-Age Crisis and Liaison Community of Practice (bi-monthly). Chaired by the North East and Yorkshire Clinical Leads for Crisis and Liaison.
Ad-hoc shared learning events.
Professionals – dates and further details can be found on our Future NHS page.
What We Plan To Do In The Next 6 Months:
- Continue to bring professionals together to share learning to improve crisis service provision via through our Crisis and Liaison Community of Practice and Shared Learning Events.
- Provide further training opportunities for professionals to raise awareness of suicide prevention and self harm.
- Provide bespoke support to ICSs aligned to national deliverables, where helpful.
Local Services
In response to the COVID – 19 pandemic, all areas were required to establish 24/7 helplines to provide mental health support. Urgent Mental Health helplines can be found here
Helpful Resources and Links
- Childline – if you are under 19 you can also call 0800 1111
- Mind - strategies to help you cope during a crisis
- NHS Where to Get Urgent Help for Mental Health
- Papyrus (Prevention on Young Suicide) – advice and support for young people who feel like they
- Samaritans call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org for a reply within 24 hours
- Text “SHOUT” to 85258 to contact the Shout Crisis Text Line