CAMHS collaborative to drive expansion of day services across the region
Expanded provision of community-based mental health day services for children and young people is set to be rolled out across all counties in the region.
The East Midlands child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) provider collaborative has been actively reviewing the need for additional community services, and has asked providers in each county to submit proposed plans for the development and delivery of new day services.
Day services can provide crucial alternatives to hospital admission in a less restrictive setting. It is known that children and young people with mental health problems, their families and carers want timely access to high-quality care in the right setting. National guidance also makes clear that more services should be provided in the community, that inpatient stays should be as short as possible and that it is unacceptable for young people to have to travel long distances for care.
A self-assessment exercise was completed in March 2024 to look at the range of CAMHS services commissioned across the East Midlands. This found that although all areas now have enhanced community services commissioned by the CAMHS collaborative, only one in five counties has day services as part of their offer.
There is an expectation that the new East Midlands-wide day service offer will:
- Be available seven days a week
- Offer family-based interventions / care in partnership with families
- Embed the principles of trauma-informed care
- Provide reasonable adjustments for those with neurodevelopmental conditions
- Offer care to those with eating disorders as well as other mental health conditions
- Offer support with travel arrangements to families, if needed
The services will be developed to put the person at the centre of their care, recognising their value as citizens within their own communities, and in line with the following key principles:
- Valuing - preventing 'othering' and fostering a sense of belonging
- Accessible - early intervention, timely support and choice
- Humane - least coercive, and compassionate and caring
- Equitable - personalised, needs-led and culturally safe
- Therapeutic - holistic, strengths-based and trauma-informed
- Collaborative - people and families in partnership, skilled workforce and system working
In parallel to the review of day services, the East Midlands CAMHS provider collaborative has also looked at the provision of inpatient services across the region. The aim is to ensure children and young people have access to the care they need close to home, providing alternatives to hospital admissions wherever appropriate.
Following on from this review, the East Midlands Alliance will consider how capacity can be used to best meet the needs of our children, young people, families and carers. This will enable improved commissioning decisions in the future to ensure that bed availability aligns with expected demand and the national focus on community provision, linking in with the work to enhance CAMHS day services.