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Future in Mind

In 2015, the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce released their Future in Mind guidance outlining the aims for transforming the way Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services services are delivered nationally. Future in Mind details how we need to set about tackling the challenges to create a system that brings together the potential of the internet, schools, social care, the NHS, the voluntary sector, parents and of course children and young people. It has five key themes:

  1. Promoting resilience, prevention and early intervention.
  2. Improving access to effective support.
  3. Care for the most vulnerable.
  4. Accountability and transparency.
  5. Developing the workforce.

Over the next five years we will be transforming the way that CAMHS is delivered, in response to the Future in Mind guidance. Each of our local NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups has developed a local transformation plan that outlines a whole system transformation to our local offer of services that contribute to, and support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. The aim is to change how care is delivered, building it around the needs of children, young people and their families.

There are a number of changes planned over the next five years, these will include:

  • A single point of access with links to local Early Help Hubs.
  • A consultation and advice model with named workers, working closely with schools and GPs  offering advice, support and guidance.
  • A new Community Eating Disorder Service.
  • A new Intensive Home Treatment Service – aimed at reducing hospital admissions.
  • A Paediatric Interface and Liaison Nurse working closely with the Children’s Ward and Emergency Departments.
  • Refreshed service pathways based on best practice and the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidance.
  • Implementation of a workforce strategy, supporting the wider children’s workforce to identify emotional health and wellbeing issues earlier and implement low level packages of care.
  • Improved engagement with children, young people and their families.

Through the transformation we hope to ensure that children and young people experiencing emotional and mental health wellbeing difficulties have early access to the right support, at the right time and in the right place. There will be increased communication and partnership working between our CAMHS services and all agencies within a child or young person’s network to discuss and support their needs to ensure the most appropriate package of care and support is implemented, preventing entry into unnecessary services for the child or young person and their family.

You can access the Future in Mind guidance here:

Future in mind Future in mind (Easy Read version)

If you would like to read the Local Transformation Plan for your locality, you can find them here: