What young people think about mental health support in Enfield

Healthwatch Enfield engaged with young people, parents and carers, and youth and community workers using semi-structured focus groups and a survey (for the parents) from July 2015 to October 2015. The aim was to listen to and evaluate their awareness, perception and experiences of mental health services and produce a report, with recommendations based on this feedback highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the current system. This report would be presented to the Enfield Joint Commissioning Board, Enfield Health and Wellbeing Board, and service providers for their responses. The 25 young people that participated were between the ages of 12 and 22 years old.

Healthwatch Enfield found that the lack of awareness of conditions, treatment and support causes difficulties for young people and their parents/carers and there is the potential for conditions to escalate due to lack of early intervention. The long waiting list for CAMHS and the lack of support between appointments is leaving young people vulnerable and distressed. Also, a couple of service-users raised issues about the focus on medication rather than therapy. There is significant stigma around mental illness and terms are used negatively with little challenge in schools and other settings. Also, sufficient funding is needed for grants or commissioned services. Many young people said they do not find the staff in educational environments approachable or skilled in signposting and feel they lack the capacity and resources to guide young people. They said that parents do not understand the situation of young people and have insufficient awareness to adequately believe or recognise their experiences. Most young Enfield participants raised fears about lack of security or confidentiality in using online sites. In general, young people who had used mental health services such as CAMHS found the quality of services to be good.

The report makes several recommendations along with strategies as part of the Joint Commissioning Board Draft Strategy for Emotional Well-being and Adolescent Mental Health for 0-18 year old in Enfield 2015-2020.