Issue - meetings

The interim report of the CAMHS task group following its first initial scoping meeting on 22 November 2017 is included.

The report recommends that Children’s Select Committee ask the CAMHS task group to:

a)    Consider the governance arrangements for the recommissioned CAHMS service;

b)    Explore and understand the new CAHMS model in comparison to the existing model and consider the evidence base for any changes. Then where appropriate, make recommendations to support its implementation and effectiveness;

c)    Look at existing data and ensure that the new model’s performance will be robustly monitored and benchmarked against this by the council, partners and by the proposed future scrutiny exercise;

d)    Consider access and referral points within the new CAHMS model and, as appropriate, make recommendations to maximise take-up by children and young people in need of support.

Chairman of the task group, Cllr Phil Alford, introduced the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) task group’s interim report.

The task group had received a presentation on the ‘Progress in raising standards of mental health for children and young people in Wiltshire’. This presentation detailed the current landscape of CAMHS and what the re-commissioned CAMHS model hopes to achieve.

The task group felt that they needed to consider the entire CAMHS model and how it was delivered. In order to do this, they felt that the remit of their work should have a focus on governance.

It was noted that prevention was key in the consideration of CAMHS, and that accessing CAMHS services should be considered as a last resort. The task group would be looking holistically at early intervention to understand its context and where it will sit within the strategy.

Clarification was given that the reference to “part two” in the report was in regard to the second load of work for the task group, rather than information to be considered in private.

Task Group task group:

a)    Consider the governance arrangements for the recommissioned CAHMS service;

b)    Explore and understand the new CAHMS model in comparison to the existing model and consider the evidence base for any changes. Then where appropriate, make recommendations to support its implementation and effectiveness;

c)    Look at existing data and ensure that the new model’s performance will be robustly monitored and benchmarked against this by the council, partners and by the proposed future scrutiny exercise;

d)    Consider access and referral points within the new CAHMS model and, as appropriate, make recommendations to maximise take-up by children and young people in need of support;

e)    Investigate how the new CAMHS contract sits within the wider context of mental healthcare services.

f)     To perform a review of the performance of the recommissioned model with a focus on:

-       a reduction in hospital admissions for children and young people with mental health needs;

-       a reduction in self-harm;

-       a reduction in the prevalence of eating disorders among children and young people;

-       an improved uptake in young people accessing the service;

-       Any other indicators agreed by the task group through their work.