Sheffield CAMHS: NHS addresses concerns over city mental health service for children and young people

Independent health and social care regulator the Care Quality Commission rated the community part of the Sheffield child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) as requiring improvement following inspections of sites last year. Several parts of the service were rated as good.

The Sheffield Children’s Foundation NHS Trust is responsible for the city’s CAMHS provision in Sheffield including emergency services at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, the Becton Centre in Beighton and the Supportive Treatment and Recovery Team (STAR).

STAR is based at accident and emergency at the Children’s Hospital and Northern General. Specialist CAMHS teams also work across the city. Both hospitals provide a place of safety, where urgent cases brought to accident and emergency departments can be assessed.

The report says that a review that also took place under the Mental Health Act (MHA) has prompted action to tackle waiting times. This includes improved ways of reviewing caseloads and discharging cases and outsourcing work to Healios, an online mental health, autism and ADHD service provider for children, young people and families.

As a result, the service has been putting together an action plan which was discussed on January 19 by the NHS trust’s executive team, a report to Sheffield City Council’s health scrutiny sub-committee meeting today (Wednesday, January 25) states.

Waits for services

The MHA review also found there were conflicting interpretations about the availability of services and their access criteria. This included the route of access to specialist CAMHS advice for 16 and 17-year-olds detainedin the Northern General Hospital.

Issues highlighted by the CQC inspections include delays in rearranging cancelled appointments, waits for services and the number of children assigned to each clinician.

Among positive aspects of the assessments, children and young people said they felt safe and well cared for. Parents and carers said they felt involved and kept up to date and staff were described as patient and insightful.

The STAR team’s expansion was seen as having improved access to mental health services for the wider community.

There was recognition that overall staffing levels were managed well in the context of a national mental health staffing crisis.

A CQC team made a separate unannounced visit to Ruby Lodge, which is a seven-bed ward at The Becton Centre in Beighton for children and young people aged 8 to 18 who have a learning disability.

Distressed carers

Changes have addressed how findings from the inspection are shared with patients and how to involve them in that process. Action also involved how better to work with distressed carers so that they are able to understand and weigh the treatment options available and feel their suggestions and concerns are listened to.

The NHS trust’s board of directors now regularly visit patient-facing areas to give CAMHS staff, children, young people and families “the opportunity to speak directly to Board colleagues about progress, opportunities and areas for improvement”, says the report. These discussions are then followed up by the board and executive team.

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