The National Mental Health Development Unit (NMHDU) and National CAMHS Support Service (NCSS) is working in partnership with the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) to support services to improve the experience of young people who are moving on for services for adolescents to adult services. The programme recognises the need for comprehensive and accessible age appropriate services for young people who have significant emotional, behavioural or psychological problems and are in need of, or receiving, a mental health service in the community or in and inpatient setting. The programme is funded by the Department of Health and will run to November 2011*.
Latest Resources Transition: From CAMHS to AMHS Supplementary Report
Ideas for Change from the Regional Workshop and Provider Self-Assessment Checklist. November 2010. Download a copy
Transition from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHs) to Adult Mental Health service (AMHs). Report on the scoping exercise to identify current transition activity and models of good practice across the East Midlands Region. April 2010. Download a copy
Wider context
Clinical evidence and the experience of young people engaged with services and their families, point to the importance of early intervention and, when appropriate, a smooth transition from Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS). This is a stage in life when young people are making many transitions for example, from school to further education or work, they may be leaving home and may move from being parented to becoming parents themselves. Although many young people negotiate these transitions smoothly, others do not. Strong, high quality service provision at the point of transition increase the likelihood of young people developing their full potential, staying well and engaging in education, training or work. The age of transition varies from 16 to 18 depending on local practice.
The programme will link with, and inform, the reshaping of the mental health strategy announced by the Coalition Government on the 2 September, which will build on previous policy direction, including New Horizons (DH, 2009); National Service Framework (NSF) for Adults of Working Age (DH, 2001), NSF for Children and Maternity (DH, 2004), Every Child Matters (HMG, 2003); Keeping Young Children in Mind: the Government response to the independent CAMHS Review (HMG, 2009) which highlighted the importance of effective transitions. However, safe and smooth transitions between CAMHS and AMHS still appear to be in the minority and subject to extreme local variation. The recent Track study found only 4% of young people reported a good transition, with many losing contact with services at this point. Ineffective transitions can lead to potentially greater distress to the young person and their family as well as higher costs to mental health services and wider public services down the line as a young person’s long-term recovery is put at risk and his or her capacity to commit to education or training or maintain a job reduced.
There are significant differences in service models, commissioning arrangements and clinical approach between CAMHS and AMHS that can create barriers to strengthening services during transition and improve outcomes for young people. The financial restraints within the NHS are likely to increase pressure on service provision.
What the programme will achieve – aims, outcomes and benefits
The programme will work closely with DH, DfE, SHAs, Government Offices, Third Sector, Local Authorities organisations and professional bodies such as the Royal Colleges, to:
- identify promising practice by mental health and social services in both the CAMHS and AMHS sectors through a Practice Enquiry and give clear information to health and social care systems about the elements of promising practice which can strengthen local service provision
- provide practical tools to improve the transition of young services users from CAMHS to the appropriate service to meet the needs of the young person and their family
- assist local areas considering changing their model of care of provision of services for young people from CAMHS and AMHS towards youth services.
The programme aims to achieve the following benefits and outcomes:
- better(measurable) outcomes and experiences for young people and their families/carers in the process of transition
- more effective delivery by frontline services
- improved commissioning of appropriate services for young people
- improved relationships between AMHS and CAMHS services and social care
Products planned
The project will produce a series of practical tools and learning resources ( including evidence-based guides for practitioners, interactive e-learning tools and online self assessment tools) that will each tailored to the needs of specific audiences such as young people, families, parents and carers; local commissioners; local providers and clinical practitioners. For further details of the products planned click here. Leadership and governance of the programme The project manager will ensure that all project activity, outcomes and deliverables are reported to the necessary programme leads and heads of department and that ongoing communication exists between all those involved, acknowledging the complex and cross cutting nature of the work. The project manager will provide a monthly report to the NMHDU board and to the Emotional health and Psychological Well being Board. To support the above, a number of stakeholders will be invited to participate in the project, through an expert reference group, including Department of Health and Department for Education policy leads; local practitioners including providers and commissioners; young people who use mental health services, their parents and carers and the public; representatives of voluntary sector organisations and independent Service user groups. The expert reference group will be a virtual group to allow for input by a wide range of stakeholders across the country.
*The products being led by the NCSS and NMHDU will be delivered in the 2010/11 financial year with some products led by SCIE delivered beyond that and up to November 2011.
Contacts
Email the project leads for further information:
Kathryn Pugh, NMHDU/NCSS; Rebecca Goldman, SCIE
In
Our Own Words' is a DVD for training services to take account of
the needs of children and young people who may require admission for
mental health problems. It details the experiences, both good and bad,
of young people and their parents, and includes reflections by advocates
and professionals on issues such as admission, treatment, safety, age
appropriate environments and discharge planning.