Your mind, your say - young people's views of mental health services in Dorset

Healthwatch Dorset undertook targeted engagement with young people to support Dorset CCG’s engagement to shape future mental health services for young people across Dorset February and March 2020.  Healthwatch visited youth groups and local organisations to gather feedback and seek the views of young people who don’t always have a strong voice, including young people who are excluded from school, young offenders, care leavers, young asylum seekers and young people who are experiencing homelessness. They spoke to a total of 23 young people, aged 14-20 years.

The engagement revealed that young people experience long waiting times to access mental health services.  They weren’t always able to see the same support worker and couldn’t access services when they were desperate for them.  When sessions were held, they were often held in a clinical environment that makes young people feel uncomfortable.  They didn’t feel listened to.  Young asylum seekers couldn’t access an interpreter.  Young people wanted to access more than a limited number of sessions.  Support workers didn’t read client notes before the start of a session, so young people had to repeat themselves.

There were 4 recommendations about waiting times, the location of sessions, access to support workers and the number of sessions available.  The report includes responses from service providers.