Agenda item

The Joint Board received a presentation from Paula Lavis, Coalition Coordinator for the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition on key issues facing Children and Young People’s mental health.

Cllr Hall thanked Ms Lavis for her introduction and invited comments from members.

Members made the following points:

·         On service demand, members emphasised that increasingly complex cases in the system and increasing levels of self-harm made it difficult to plan in terms of need. Money needed to be allocated more effectively to meet these rising demands.

·         Some members felt that child carers were an important omission in the presentation, with evidence that this group were particularly vulnerable to mental health problems and associated factors such as isolation and depression.

·         Bullying was identified as a key issue with members commenting that more needed to be done to address its underlying causes. It was also highlighted that children may avoid visiting the CAMHS nurse when they come to their school as they are stigmatized by their peers.

·         Timescales were seen as a crucial issue. Members emphasised that a three month wait in some areas to see someone regarding a mental health issue was unacceptable.

·         Members observed that the definition of “intervention” has changed over the years, with this being reclassified as a piece of paper in some instances. This raised questions regarding the value for money offered by CAMHS services and made it difficult to scrutinise activity which had taken place and whether children and young people’s needs had been adequately served. Councillors asserted that it was time to stop considering outcomes alone and assess what was being done on the ground.

·         While agreeing with much of the presentation’s analysis on what was wrong with the CAMHS service, members highlighted that further work was needed to identify what “good” looked like for the service.

·         Members commented that the assertion in paragraph 5 of the report regarding groups “more at risk” of mental health problems risked generalising mental health problems across groups. They emphasised that the most vulnerable groups would vary according to area.

·         Officers agreed to ensure that the LGA’s position going forward adequately reflects the full range of vulnerable groups at risk of mental health problems across local areas.  

·         On the issue of funding, members said that it was important to provide background evidence when quoting statistics such as spending £1 to save £84.

Members requested more information on the terms of reference for the health committee inquiry on CAMHS.

Cllr Hall thanked members for their contributions and said these would be reflected in the select committee response.

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