Agenda item

The Panel received a presentation from Lee Golze, Doncaster Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) promoting, protecting and improving our children and young people’s emotional well-being and mental health.  It was outlined to the Panel that the CCG had a five year vision to transform the whole system.  The Local Transformation Plan had recently been refreshed and signed off by the Health and Well-being Board.  Provision covered four tiers from early intervention, for example support in schools for emotional health issues, to the need for long term psychiatric beds.

The following areas were discussed:

Good outcomes for children and young people – it had been found that children reacted more positively to people and settings they were familiar with or a professional. 

New model of provision – would include key officers in school where symptoms of emotional health or mental health could be identified by people who know the children and young people well.  It was hoped that such intervention could provide earlier and correct access to support services in their own communities rather than through the traditional GP route. 

Accident and Emergency – A Paediatric nurse was now based in the department to help young people who were entering Accident and Emergency on Friday evenings, for example, due to self-harming.  The nurse would be more equipped to deal with children and young people leading or suffering from chaotic lifestyles.

Foster Carers – with specialised knowledge were providing temporary short term care to ensure that children and young people in crisis with mental/emotional health issues were ensuring the right care package was in place.

Eating disorders – wrap around support was currently available for young people 0 to 19 years but there was aspiration that it the service be commissioned for 0 to 25 years.  It was noted that obesity was also being addressed with Public Health as part of the 5 year plan.  Members highlighted the positives from the Active Kids programme in school holidays and the HENRY programme that had been developed to tackle early years obesity prevention.

Family Therapeutic Service – it was confirmed that the service looked at families as a whole and, working with partners, provided the correct support package. 

Emotional well-being questionnaires – following Members concern it was noted that if children and young people were asked to complete the same style of questionnaire as an adult it would only provide a snapshot of their emotional/mental state on a particular day and would not give support services a true picture.  Members acknowledged that when professionals work with children and young people they can raise a variety of issues that provides information about the root of the problem.  When dealing with cases, quality reports are provided to ensure Commissioners can gain a better understanding of the mental health.

Consultation and Advice Locality Workers – it was noted that academisation did not have an impact on provision of the service and there had been no difficulty working with the schools.  81% of Doncaster’s schools had provided the CCG with a school lead contact for emotional well-being.  It was recognised that a small number of schools already had excellent pastoral support, but this was a service schools had been requesting for a long period of time and therefore had been easy to embed.

It was important that such a support service was available as children and young people suffering with anxiety/mental health would hide events that happen at home.

            RESOLVED that the report and presentation be noted.