Care of the Most Vulnerable Workshop Feedback

Co-production event: Thrive - 6th June 2018 - Oswaldtwistle

What does Thrive look like now?

People are not sure what Thrive is
Need more joined up approach – different agencies creating digital resources independently rather than pooling resources
Integrated services needed – too many gaps between agencies
Need one approach across the whole area – access to support should not be a postcode lottery
Need better commissioning processes – joint commissioning across geographical area and annual commissioning creates barriers in accessing support
De-commissioning impacts on other work that agencies do to fill in the gaps
Need better connections between home, school and professionals
Streamlining of service & communication needed
Need to share information between agencies better
Participation needs to be meaningful – co production and co design of services
Support needs to be proactive not reactive
Professionals need to learn to work with children and not the other way around
Issues in referral process and how young people’s level of need of support – “not anxious enough for CAMHS” – who decides on what ‘vulnerable’ is and what support is appropriate and when?
Waiting times too long for referral and need to provide specialist support early not generic support
Need a change of culture towards mental health – should receive the same focus as safeguarding
Individual talking therapy is not always the answer – consider alternatives
Need more pre-diagnosis support and more early intervention support
Schools need to be better at supporting young people’s mental health – training for teachers needed (also for youth organisations) including SENCOs specifically for disabled young people
Multi-agency approach should be in place in schools
Parents need more support & a whole family approach is needed
Lack of support for children not in school
Police need training in mental health awareness
Lack of 24-hour support and need more flexibility of appointments to meet young people’s needs
Need more peer support opportunities
View of young people that they are only considered as vulnerable if they have caused harm. Are NEET young people seen as vulnerable/
How can 1 service support such a large area of vulnerable young people?
Young people struggle to speak about their mental health concerns if they can’t relate to the other person

What 5 things would you fix?

1. Need for greater youth and family voice in shaping mental health provision for young people

2. Need better knowledge and understanding of mental health

3. Need more joined up working

4. Need better definition of mental health and vulnerability

5. Need better continuity of support

What does good look like?

1. Youth Voice

“I always feel listened to and valued”

Good would be a holistic whole approach to supporting young people’s mental health
Peer support in schools
Support groups for young people and parents
Better support for non-verbal young people
Varied and more creative means of engaging with and supporting vulnerable young people
Support is provided in young people’s language not that of professionals

2. Better Knowledge and Understanding of Mental Health

“Everyone is confident and empowered to support young people’s mental health”

Easy access and consistent provision of mental health training for all professionals – including education and youth organisations
Flexible approach to supporting young people
Mental health is everybody’s business and considered to be as important as safeguarding
Better knowledge of what ‘triggers’ are for every individual
Better understanding of what ‘Thrive’ is

3. Joined Up Working

“Right support at the right time”

Local knowledge key to a seamless service – a dedicated participation worker in each locality would provide this local knowledge and support
A system of support that is both fluid and flexible
All young people are identified for support at the earliest possible opportunity
Schools access to CAMHS is seamless so that young people do not fall through the gaps
Effective multi-agency response and effective information sharing
Creative support for young people not in school
Co-production and co-working on a continual basis
One central hub for all services to communicate with each other

4. Defining Mental Health and Vulnerability

“Consistency and clarity of definition across all services”

Mental health should be self-defined and self-determined so that families can access the support they need.
Change culture around diagnosis – common understanding
Distinguish what is the difference between feeling low and having mental health issues
Clarity around trigger points for support and how action plans are established based on these

5. Continuity of Support

“Long waiting times will be a thing of the past”

Better communication between services
Services feel empowered and have knowledge to signpost young people to other services for support if unable to provide the support they need
Local support and knowledge available for young people and families
Multi-agency approach
Seamless transition for people between different levels of support – if people change the system won’t fail them
A robust system, locally based, for children, young people and their families which gives a supportive guide – interfacing with services and provides up to date information to ensure services are known.