Agenda item

The Board received a presentation by Emma Price (DCCG) and Martyn Owen (DMBC) on the Doncaster Children & Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-25.

Emma and Martyn began by outlining the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic had had on children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing and on the service provision in supporting their needs.  They then summarised the cross-partner working undertaken since 2020 to understand the patterns of presentations emerging at A&E involving young people and working with schools and other agencies to identify any gaps in the support and services available.  The Doncaster Young Advisors had also taken a lead part in this work, producing a Vision and Ambition statement formulated from extensive Young Advisor led survey exercises.  This formed a fundamental part of the overarching strategy and underpinned all of the priorities and actions.

The Board was then informed of each of the Strategy priorities in turn, which comprised:-

1. Improve access to Doncaster services;
2. Address systemic inequalities;
3. Raise capacity and capability within mainstream schools; and
4. Reduce waiting times for neurological pathways.

It was noted that it was intended to develop an implementation plan setting out the intended actions over the three years of the Strategy.  The plan would be designed to identify key actions and provide clear timelines alongside measurable success criteria.

Emma concluded by outlining how the Strategy would be taken forward in years 2 and 3, and the measures that would be put in place in order to test and challenge the progress achieved against the priorities.

Arising from discussion on the need to look at ways of building resilience in young people, Emma Price offered to provide a briefing to a future meeting of the Board on the subject of future resilience and the work being undertaken to support this.  She cited as an example the recent launch in Doncaster of the Kooth digital mental health support service for young people and young adults which included free access to a range of resilience tools.

In response to a question as to whether there was any correlation between those areas of the Borough with high levels of deprivation and the levels of need in relation to young people’s mental health and whether this had been mapped out, Emma Price explained that the Kooth system had been set to map out the Borough, including the Wards, which would give a clearer picture in 6 - 12 months’ time of any correlation between deprivation and young people’s needs in respect of mental health.  It was also reported that the data from A&E presentations was being used to identify hotspot areas, and this in turn was used to prioritise resources and ensure that schools in those areas were given the necessary support to help deal with cases.

After the Board had acknowledged the importance of joined up working across the various Strategies, including the Early Help Strategy, and discussed the vital role that Early Help would have in terms of building future resilience and emotional intelligence in children, it was

RESOLVED:

1.           To agree to the strategic priorities set out within the Doncaster Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy; and

2.           That the Board formally agrees to sign-off the overall Strategy.