Children and Young People’s
Mental Health
The Children and Young Peoples Mental Health 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.
What We Are Trying To Achieve
Working with our system partners we aim to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people and their families.
We focus upon service transformation and improvement to make services better and more accessible. We also aim to highlight and help address health inequalities across Yorkshire and the Humber.
Working in partnership with children and young people and their families is an essential element of our work.
Why It’s Important
Mental Health problems often develop between the ages of 5-15.
Pre-COVID pandemic, around one in eight children and young people experienced mental health difficulties severe enough to warrant specialist support but only a quarter of those children and young people received it. The number of children and young people with a mental health disorder continues to rise. The most recent estimates are that one in six experience difficulties (NHS Digital – see Closing the Gap in Child and Youth Mental Health Support – Insights from the North West 2021)
Prompt access to appropriate support enables children and young people experiencing difficulties to maximise their prospects for a happy and healthy life (NHS Long Term Plan)
What We Have Achieved In The Last 6 Months:
We have
- Provided support, problem solving and advice on key themes and enabled partners to share best practice to improve services and care across Yorkshire and the Humber.
- Supported our Integrated Care Systems with the development of their Strategic Plans* for Children and Young People’s Mental Health including the facilitation of a Regional Visioning Event, attended by over 50 system partners including a number of Children and Young People aged between 15 and 19, to provide feedback and constructive challenge on emerging priorities and plans.
* These plans replace the Local Transformation Plans that each local area used to develop and refresh annually. - Ensured our work programme is responsive to the needs of our local Integrated Care Systems, one example of which, is the facilitation of a shared learning event on Looked After Children in March 2022, bringing together system partners from across Local Authorities, Health and Social Care.
- Delivered Advancing Health Equalities Masterclasses on Race and Ethnicity and Gender (including transgender and non-binary children and young people) in partnership with the Midlands.
- Worked closely with colleagues from the Office for Health Inequalities and Disparities (OHID) and the Yorkshire and the Humber Student Mental Health Network to improve Mental Health care and support for Students.
(see individual programmes for further achievements)
What We Plan To Do In The Next 6 Months:
- Facilitate further Advancing Health Equalities Masterclasses on Children in Care, LGBT, Marginalised Communities and Youth Offending/Children at Risk.
- Support Integrated Care Systems to refresh their Children and Young People Strategic Plans in the Autumn.
Meaningful participation and engagement with children and young people, their families and carers will be at the heart of all our work programmes.
Meetings & Events
In addition to the meetings and events referenced within specific work programmes we have;
- Yorkshire and the Humber Clinical Network Children and Young People’s Mental Health Commissioner/Integrated Care System (ICS) Improvement Forum (Bi-Monthly)
- Shared Learning Events (Ad-hoc) including bi-monthly Advancing Health Equalities Masterclasses in Partnership with the Midlands.
Professionals – dates and further details can be found on our Future NHS page.