Your thoughts on Childs and Adolescent Mental Health Services

Local people have said they are keen to see early access to mental health services for the county’s young people, and that these are well resourced.

That’s some of the key feedback received by Orkney Health and Care (OHAC) when they asked the Orkney community, in July, for their thoughts on how services supporting young people’s mental health can be refined to best meet local needs.

This survey followed the allocation of close to £800k by the Scottish Government for OHAC, working with their third sector partners, to redesign and build capacity in the county’s Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).

The responses received included some consistent themes, says Stephen Brown, Chief Officer/Executive Director of Orkney Health and Care: “People have been clear they want to see a service that has the time and resources to ensure patients and their families understand the CAMHS service, and how it can help them.

“They want early access to services that respond to their individual needs, and want to influence how the service develops.

“We recognise many people don’t feel we’re up-to-speed just yet; however the funding we’ve received from the Scottish Government - and the feedback from the public - will now allow OHAC and our partners to develop and expand both our workforce and facilities, providing the opportunities to deliver the improvements our patients, and their families and our staff have told us they want to see.

“For example, we have already begun the process to recruit new professional staff, which will significantly improve the scope of service we deliver.

“We are committed to seeking involvement from our patients, their family, and the community on their experience of the service, and how we can continue to improve. The recent survey is just one part of our efforts to hear from people who use or are involved with CAMHS, and sets a benchmark against which we will measure improvements in the service.

“We want to thank everyone who took part in the survey, and will provide a further update before the end of the year, when we will report on the progress we have made to improve our CAMHS service in Orkney.”

Some of the comments received include:

• “Staff should be taking some time to get to know these children and young people.”
• “Do more and do it early.”
• “This must be tailored to each individual depending on age and ability. One size will never fit all.”
• “By listening, understanding and acknowledging that EVERY circumstance is different and no 2 kids are the same.”
• “Have more people working in this department.”
• “Do more of these surveys.”
• “More interaction with the third sector services that are also involved with young people.”
• “I believe the services already provide a very respectful service. So keep doing what you are doing right now.”

Orkney’s allocation of £800k from the Scottish Government is the first phase of funding to Health Boards across Scotland from the Government’s £120 million Recovery and Renewal Fund, announced in February this year, to support the implementation of Scotland’s Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan, published in October 2020.