Waiting for wellness: phase 2

This report details the findings of Healthwatch Lancashire's project exploring young peoples’ experiences of mental health and accessing mental health support in Lancashire. This project follows on from their initial project which was published in October 2023 which explored the experiences of Lancashire residents who had experience of waiting for support from mental health services. 

Feedback uncovered a series of barriers to accessing support, which for many, resulted in a decline in their mental health and feeling unsure of where to go for support. Feedback was gathered from 110 young people, 31 parent/carers and 1 college wellbeing officer. 

Over a quarter of young people had received a mental health diagnosis and the most reported reason for young people’s poor mental health was ‘stress’. 

A main theme the research identified was multiple barriers in accessing support for those who are neurodivergent, particularly those with autism and/or ADHD. The barriers highlighted included: 

• A lack of support from CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) due to staff not being sufficiently trained in neurodiversity. 
• Young people being discharged from CAMHS without receiving treatment due to their autism or ADHD. 

These barriers resulted in some young people unable to access education and some parent/carers having to pay for private mental health support. 

There were disparities identified in available support within educational settings. Although 79% of young people knew what support they could access at school, college and university, some young people were not aware or they had negative experiences of receiving support. 

Negative experiences of CAMHS was also identified through feedback from young people and parent/carers particularly around transitioning from child mental health services to adult mental health services. Long waiting lists provided a barrier, along with being discharged without treatment due to not qualifying for treatment. 

Healthwatch asked parents and carers what support they needed for supporting a young person struggling with their mental health. Support groups was the most mentioned form of support needed, so that parent/carers could speak with people going through similar experiences. 

There were positive experiences to be celebrated including 46% of young people receiving mental health support either on the same day or within a month. Also, the high proportion (79%) of young people who were aware what support was on offer at school, college and university. 

These findings have helped to formulate recommendations for the attention of providers of mental health services in Lancashire including Lancashire and South Cumbria Foundation Trust (LSCFT) to help improve the access and experience of mental health services in Lancashire.