“They have taught me about my thoughts and feelings and I now feel that my life is good.”
A pilot bringing together CAMHS crisis teams and Barnardo’s to provide extra support to young people receiving home treatment in the Black Country has been hailed as a success.
The scheme saw six Barnardo’s keyworkers team up with the CAMHS Crisis Intervention/Home Treatment Team to provide 1:1 support to children and young people.
They aimed to reduce the length of the stay of children and young people on paediatric wards and to provide supervised intervention to children and young people needing home treatment, as well as being a point of contact between the CAMHS crisis team, acute hospitals and social care.
Barnardo’s keyworkers were overseen clinically by the CAMHS crisis locality teams to trial this new way of working and the project was developed to see if there was a role for a non-clinical workforce in the CAMHS crisis team.
Over the course of the trial, which has been extended and will be evaluated in the New Year, 108 children and young people were seen by Barnardo’s under CAMHS supervision for home treatment interventions. 68 individuals demonstrated a significant improvement in mental health functioning, while 14 showed a moderate improvement. The positive outcomes of the trial demonstrated the value of introducing supervised non-clinical workforce into the CAMHS Crisis Team.
Partnership working was at the heart of the scheme. By working with Barnardo’s, families under the care of the team received cost of living grant support to the value of £25,000 to ease financial pressures. Meanwhile, through relationships built by working with the Trust, Barnardo’s is now able to offer independent project support to all acute hospitals emergency departments in the Black Country.
Feedback from young people who have been supported by the scheme has been positive, with one young person reflecting: “I wasn’t sure if the support would help but I have found the sessions so supportive, they have taught me about my thoughts and feelings and I now feel that my life is good and I want to be here. I have had support from many in the crisis team.”
Sarah Hogan, Deputy Director for Children, Young People and Families at Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The partnership between CAMHS crisis team and Barnardo’s in the Black Country led to positive outcomes for our children and young people and demonstrates how working collaboratively with organisations can lead to impactful projects that really make a difference. I look forward to seeing how we can continue to work together to help children and young people in the Black Country.”