Enter and view: Bury CAMHS

This is an Enter and View report by Healthwatch Bury. Healthwatch representatives visited the Bury CAMHS service to assess the care delivered there.

This was an announced visit. Staff talked with 4 young people, 4 loved ones, and 4 members of staff. A survey was used to engage people.

Key findings include:

• Feedback from both loved ones and young people was mixed, with half reporting a very positive experience and half sharing frustrations. These frustrations involved waiting lists and being unsure of the process. This was also identified by the manager and staff team, who shared their plans to implement a check-in service for families on the waiting list to provide reassurance and support.
• The young people reported feeling kindness and compassion from the team at CAMHS. While opinions were mixed regarding the effectiveness of their intervention, this highlights the person-centred care and relationship-building focus within the service.
• Bury CAMHS has reported several planned changes. These plans are a direct result of feedback received from patients and their families, as well as ongoing internal assessment, showing the service's commitment to growth and action in the best interests of the local community. 

There are recommendations in this report:

• To provide more information to families and young people confused by the process. Feedback from both loved ones and young people was mixed, with half reporting a very positive experience and half sharing frustrations. These frustrations involved waiting lists and being unsure of the process. This was also identified by the manager and staff team, who shared their plans to implement a check-in service for families on the waiting list to provide reassurance and support. This will require staff hours and structuring to implement and was being planned before our visit. It is also important to consider that information could be shared by the referrer to families at the point of referral (for example, schools).
• Young people expressed being confused by their intervention and feeling as though their worker did not know much about their day-to-day life. It could be suggested that workers attempt to engage in this conversation throughout their sessions, to give extra reassurance to the young people under their care that they are paying attention to the ups and downs of their journey. This is not a reflection of poor practice, as mental health support can be a complicated process and, in this context, professionals are only able to learn information if a young person chooses to share it. This can make it more challenging, but the young people who responded spoke highly of their 
  workers. Studies have shown individuals can find the experience of therapy or mental health support distressing, including struggling to ‘open up’ or feeling disloyal to loved ones. Patients can feel insecure about their worthiness and right to share inner experiences with professionals (Kleiven, Hjeltnes, and Moltu, 2020).

There are no follow up actions in this report.