Issue - meetings

Resolved:

The Committee asked that the following information be provided for inclusion in the final review report:

·         Further comparator data on waiting times for CAMHS.

·         Information on what will happen to embed learning from the HeadStart project so far if the bid for further funding does not succeed.

Caroline Hirst (Commissioner, Children & Young People) introduced the report and highlighted the following key points:

·         1 in 10 children will experience some form of mental health problem before they are 15.

·         The HeadStart project is funded by Big Lottery and is a great opportunity to boost universal and targeted mental health and emotional well-being provision within Lewisham, particularly around resilience. The HeadStart project has a series of priorities and targets with a steering group made up of young people.

·         Risk factors for mental health issues include poverty, being a Looked After Child (LAC), parental mental health, and those exposed to trauma.

·         Mental health provision is divided into a number of tiers. Tiers 3 and 4 are statutory provision dealing with the most serious cases. Tiers 1 and 2 are universal and targeted provision.

·         South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust are commissioned to provide specialist child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) provision at Tiers 3 and 4.

·         Place2Be, a national charity, offer universal and targeted provision in 10 schools within the borough, 2 secondary and 8 primary. They provide a school based counselling service, which incorporates 1:1 appointments, group sessions and open access drop in sessions.

In response to questions from the Committee, Frankie Sulke (Executive Director for Children & Young People), Warwick Tomsett (Head of Targeted Services and Joint Commissioning), Caroline Hirst, Mick Atkinson (Head of Commissioning, Place2Be), Wendy Geraghty (Lead Clinician, Lewisham Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service) and Ruth Hutt (Public Health Consultant) provided the following information:

·         Suicide amongst young people is rare in Lewisham and is more common among young men than other groups. Self-harm is increasing and more common than suicide, whilst the suicide rate itself is static. There have been no suicides amongst children and young people in Lewisham since 2001. It is the intention of the HeadStart Programme, to build mechanisms of identification and increase opportunities for support, building resilience amongst the child population to reduce the likelihood of suicide.

·         While waiting times could be shorter for CAMHS, Lewisham is under the 12 week national target for waiting times and do well in this area in comparison to other  local authorities. 

·         CAMHS services work with young people with high levels of needs.  Young people who self-harm cannot be discharged from hospital without being seen by CAMHS.

·         Young people are directed to other family support services, if they don’t meet the threshold for CAMHS.

·         Nationally and locally there has been some debate regarding the ‘tiered’ approach to CAMH service.  The Department of Health is reviewing the current language and there are proposals to change this to a ‘system’ approach to the delivery of CAMHS. 

·         Part of the HeadStart project is a pilot online counselling service that provides a direct interface to clinical support and this service allows young people to refer themselves.

·         Lewisham CAMHS are fully engaged in the ongoing development of universal and targeted provision in the borough, offering strategic support and expertise to the HeadStart Lewisham programme. 

·         HeadStart Lewisham operates  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4