Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 7 of 7
Access and waiting times in children and young people's mental health services
- Author:
- FRITH Emily
- Publisher:
- Education Policy Institute
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 16
- Place of publication:
- London
Based on the results of a Freedom of Information request to providers of 67 specialist child and adolescent mental health services, this report examines access and waiting times to specialist treatment for children and young people. It finds that many children with mental health problems face barriers when seeking access to mental health services, with over a quarter of children referred to specialist mental health services were not accepted in 2016-17.Providers in the South of England rejected the highest proportion of referrals (34.0 per cent), with London the lowest (19.3 per cent). Although overall waiting times have fallen from an average of 39 days in 2015-16 to 33 days in 2016-17, the report identified substantial variation across England. The report makes recommendations for policy, including standardised data collection and publication; the provision of early intervention at a local level, and equipping teachers with training and skills. (Edited publisher abstract)
Online mental health support of young people
- Author:
- FRITH Emily
- Publisher:
- Education Policy Institute
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 48
- Place of publication:
- London
This report summarises recent research on online mental health care for young people, including research on efficacy and key issues associated with providing counselling and advice via the Internet. It then focuses on the Kooth online counselling model, developed by XenZone. Using data provided by Kooth, the report examines the demographics of those using online mental health support; the patterns of service usage; and client feedback and initial outcomes monitoring. The research also conducted interviews and analysed local data from three Kooth services in Hertfordshire, Plymouth and Halton. It found that in all three areas young people appreciated the anonymity, confidentiality, accessibility and control offered by online counselling. Local commissioners also valued the data about service use and that the service could reach groups that were not always accessing traditional services. Despite the benefits, the commissioners all acknowledged the need for a blended approach so that face-to-face support was available for those young people who did not want to receive counselling online. The report concludes by outlining what further research could be undertaken to evaluate the impact of blending online support with a traditional face-to-face mental health service. (Edited publisher abstract)
Social media and children's mental health: a review of the evidence
- Author:
- FRITH Emily
- Publisher:
- Education Policy Institute
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 30
- Place of publication:
- London
A review of the evidence on the benefits and risks of social media to young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing. The review also provides information on the amount of time that young people currently spend online. The review identified a number of benefits for young people using social media, such as the developing digital skills, increasing social connections, and enabling teenagers to seek support or counselling online. It also identified risks, which included: the impact of excessive time spent online; sharing too much information; cyber-bullying the influence of social media on body image; and sourcing of harmful content or advice. However, it finds there is insufficient evidence to establish a causal link between social networking and mental health problems. The findings suggests the focus of public policy should be on developing resilience in young people to maintain their emotional and mental wellbeing and support their safe participation in an increasingly digital world, rather than restricting access to the internet. (Edited publisher abstract)
The performance of the NHS in England in transforming children's mental health services
- Author:
- FRITH Emily
- Publisher:
- Education Policy Institute
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 27
- Place of publication:
- London
This report analyses data from NHS England’s new Mental Health Five Year Forward View Dashboard to examine the progress made by the Government in improving children and young people’s mental health services (CAMHS). It analyses data from the second Quarter Dashboard report, covering the period from July to September 2016. It assess performance at Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) level, variation in overall performance on funding, inpatient services, crisis care across the country, and planned spending on eating disorders. It highlights areas of best practice and those performing poorly. The findings show that almost three quarters of CCGs failed to meet NHS England’s own benchmark for improving services. Across England, less than a third of CCGs had a fully funded plan to improve crisis care, with one in nine CCGs having no agreed plan or funding set out. It also found an increase in the number of children being treated in adult wards since the previous quarter, and wide variation between CCG’s planned spending per head. The report highlights four priority areas for improvement, which include: for CCG to have a clear and funded plan to improve crisis care; reducing the number of children being treated in adult wards; and addressing the variation in planned spending on child and adolescent mental health services across the country. (Edited publisher abstract)
CentreForum Commission on Children and Young People's Mental Health: state of the nation
- Author:
- FRITH Emily
- Publisher:
- CentreForum
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 32
- Place of publication:
- London
This report explores the issue of child and adolescent mental health in England. It sets out the latest available data on prevalence and trends over the last five years, and in the process highlights the fractured and inconsistent nature of the data available on this issue. This research identifies a significant ‘treatment gap’, where children and young people are unable to get the help they need; have to wait months for treatment; or are treated in the wrong place. The study reveals that child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are, on average, turning away nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of children referred to them for treatment by concerned parents, GPs, teachers and others. This is often because their condition was not considered serious enough, or not considered suitable for specialist mental health treatment. The median waiting time for all providers was one month for a first appointment and two months until start of treatment. There was wide variation in average waiting times for different providers, from two weeks in Cheshire to 19 weeks in North Staffordshire. The average of the maximum waiting times for all providers has more than doubled since 2011/12. Only 0.7 per cent of NHS funding is spent on young people’s mental health, and only 16 per cent of this funding is on early intervention. This report demonstrates a stark inequality within the NHS where, unlike those who are physically ill, children and young people with mental health problems are still not always getting the right treatment, at the right time, in the right place. (Edited publisher abstract)
Inpatient provision for children and young people with mental health problems
- Author:
- FRITH Emily
- Publisher:
- Education Policy Institute
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 33
- Place of publication:
- London
This report examines the state of child and adolescent mental health inpatient services in England. It explores the latest evidence and NHS data on admissions, quality of care, staffing and capacity of inpatient services – including geographical distribution and out of area placements. It also looks briefly at community alternatives to hospital admission and delayed discharge. It highlights five challenges in order to raise standards in young people’s mental health provision. These include: addressing workforce shortages, improving access to inpatient beds and reduce geographical disparity in access; and increasing the capacity of community mental health and social care support services to enable young people to be discharged from hospital sooner. (Edited publisher abstract)
Progress and challenges in the transformation of children and young people's mental health care: a report of the Education Policy Institute's Mental Health Commission
- Author:
- FRITH Emily
- Publisher:
- Education Policy Institute
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 47
- Place of publication:
- London
This report explores progress made since the publication of the Coalition Government’s strategy, Future in Mind, in 2015 to transform mental health care for children and young people in England. It also identifies key barriers and risks that could hinder the process of transformation. The report was based on analysis of local transformation plans, a call for evidence distributed to key stakeholders in the field of children and young people’s mental health, interviews with professionals and a freedom of information request to child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) providers. The report shows a wide variation in progress achieved so far. Positive changes identified, including: the development of plans in every area of the country, although these varied in quality with only 15 per cent seen as 'good', 48 per cent 'require improvement' and 37 per cent 'require substantial improvement; gathering of national data to inform service improvement; and local health and care leaders working together to coordinate the design of new services. However the report also identified six barriers to progress, including: workforce, both recruitment difficulties and training needs; funding, with failure to ring-fence budgets allocated to local areas; the complexity and quality of local commissioning; the need for better data to plan services; fragmentation of services; and intervening too late. (Edited publisher abstract)