CAMHS report

This is a report by Healthwatch Wigan and Leigh. The project looks at the local CAMHS.

Healthwatch Wigan and Leigh conducted a piece of work around the pathways to Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) with the aim of the project being to establish whether the current mental health care pathway is effective in identifying and helping Children and Young People to access the support they need in a timely and effective way.

The project aimed to understand the experiences of service users from the perspective of 
young people, parents and professionals. The first step involved creating three targeted 
surveys for:

Children and Young People = 24 responses
Parents and Caregivers = 402 responses
Professionals = 42 responses

There were issues identified with the transition away from CAMHS as young people got older. There was also concern about the pathway into the service itself.

Recommendations aligned with those of HW Trafford on the same topic:

• Improve awareness of mental health support services available to enable all stakeholders to make informed choices about where and how to access help and support.
• Provide clear information for families and other professionals on what the CAMHS Pathway is and what can be expected.
• Action needed to ensure equal access to the care pathway.
• Create a Single Point of Entry for Greater Manchester.
• Improve communication and support during the waiting period.
• Treat parent/carers as equal partners in their child’s access to the Pathway.

There are no follow up actions in this report.