Healthwatch Brighton and Hove has published a report on people’s experiences of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in Brighton and Hove.
THE REPORT shows that the complexity of the service and lack of information is putting young people in a vulnerable position.
Young people and their carers have said that they did not know what they could expect from CAMHS, what their rights were within the service, or where they could go to for extra support in a crisis situation. In addition, due to the complex relationships between local CAMHS organisations, some people have experienced multiple diagnoses, or not been informed about their diagnosis at all.
The report also revealed that some GPs are confused about the referral pathways and where to send young people once they near the age of transition between services. This could result in some young people never reaching the services they need to contact. It was also felt that some GPs had little understanding of autism and mental health, which made referrals and diagnosis more challenging.
Not only have young people found it difficult to engage with CAMHS, but parents have also often reported feeling blamed for their children’s behaviour and condition through general staff attitudes towards them, or because they were asked to complete a parenting skills course. They were also labelled by CAMHS staff as being over-protective or attention-seeking.
With local A&E waiting times under pressure, and other resources such as the Sussex Mental Healthline orientated around adult mental health and signposting, some parents felt that they did not know where to turn when there was an emergency.
Frances McCabe, Healthwatch Brighton and Hove Chair said: “Identifying and supporting troubled children is the top priority for families and society. That the services do not succeed for so many children and young people is not acceptable. Delays drift and diagnostic problems in young lives lead not only to great distress for the child and their family, but can affect their whole life in the future. When CAMHS services succeeded, children’s’ lives were transformed.”
Healthwatch has contacted the Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) to voice local people’s concerns and share some recommendations highlighting the importance of providing relevant information to CAMHS patients, their carers and health practitioners.
For the full report along with responses from the CCG and BHCC click here:
You must be logged in to post a comment.