Young people mental health report

The purpose of this evaluative survey is to examine mental health service provisions available and being accessed by children and young people (“C&YP”) in Hounslow, with a view to finding out their appropriateness, effectiveness, and adequacy, and to review mental health pathways so as to identify service gaps and any areas requiring further improvement and progress. Specific focus is also paid to C&YP from some specially disadvantaged ethnic minorities and emerging communities. The main areas of focus for the study, in order to have access to the required data, were local schools, key organisations providing mental health services and also GPs.

The key organisations targeted in the study were the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (or CAMHS); Targeted Mental Health in Schools (or TaMHS); Hounslow Youth Counselling Service (HYCS); Counselling in local Schools/Colleges Early Intervention Service (EIS) and West Middlesex University hospital’s A&E and Paediatrics Unit. Different questionnaires were used for each target group. Each organisation was examined as according to the view of the C&YP, their parents (or carers) and the GPs.

Individuals who were not affected by MH were also examined so as to glean their views on the subject, and the provisions available. Most of those interviewed felt that 4 they understood what MH services meant, with a large majority maintaining that greater awareness of MH problems should be created in schools. Communicating with the Nepalese community in particular, it is evident that there is a greater need for targeted MH Services for ethnic minority communities, and to make these more accessible to counteract language barriers.

Through the examination of the above data, suggestions for improvement were established. These ranged from better communication of the services in general, as well as throughout the process, to more flexibility with regards to the process as a whole. Funding is necessary in order to achieve the aims, specifically follow up support. On the whole, the local Transformation Board Meeting of Hounslow expressed positive and exciting changes in the future, with the result of putting an end to any stigma surrounding mental illnesses.