18
Rejected
Consult on proposals to expand preventative mental health support for rural children and young people.
Recommendation
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) have been under intense pressure for many years, but a lack of alternative rural social infrastructure and a fall in support for youth services means CAMHS is often the “only show in town”. However, focussing on providing ‘reactive’ mental health services will only go so far, especially given CAMHS waiting times, so the focus and resources need to shift to prevention. Early intervention via Mental Health Support Teams (MSHTs) is a positive development but needs to be rolled-out to all rural schools as soon as possible and adequately resourced with appropriately trained staff given the many responsibilities on schools. Youth service provision in rural areas also needs to be expanded but until that is delivered, whilst demand is high on CAMHS, and alongside MHSTs, much more investment is needed in other forms of prevention such as ‘Early Support Hubs’. Therefore, we recommend that DHSC, NHS England and DEFRA consult on proposals to reduce reliance on CAMHS by expanding preventative mental health support for children and young people by, (a) setting out a path to expand provision of MHSTs to 100% of schools and colleges in rural areas by 2026/27, and (b) committing to establish and fund ‘Early Support Hubs’ that can be accessed by children and young people in rural areas by 2024/25.
Government Response Summary
The government outlines its existing rollout for Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) but does not commit to expanding provision to 100% of rural schools by 2026/27. For Early Support Hubs, it has commissioned a longitudinal study but does not commit to establishing and funding them by 2024/25.
Paragraph Reference
133
Government Response
Rejected
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The government recognises the importance of early preventative support in schools and local communities for supporting children and young people to have good mental health and wellbeing and prevent poor mental wellbeing from developing into mental illness. Work is already underway in rolling out mental health support teams (MHSTs) in schools and colleges. We remain committed to delivering the Green Paper on Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision, and we have made progress. Around 400 mental health support teams are now operational, covering 3.4 million pupils and learners in England in 6,800 schools and colleges. 100 more teams are in training, taking the total number of operational teams to about 500 by spring 2024. Teams will cover at least 50% of pupils in England by the end of the 2024 to 2025 financial year. A planning process has been put in place to ensure the selection of MHST sites (covering 2021/22 to 2023/24) adequately focuses on areas with higher levels of need, inequality, and disadvantage. This process requires all ICSs to work in collaboration with health and wider local system partners to determine where new teams should be located, and to prioritise reducing health inequalities and promoting equality of access to services. This should therefore ensure that MHSTs reach those children and young people with high levels of need who are most at risk of poor outcomes, including children and young people in rural locations. DHSC has been working with other government departments, stakeholders and the VCSE sector to better understand the role that early support hubs might play in supporting children and young people’s mental wellbeing. DHSC has also recently commissioned, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, a longitudinal study to establish the effectiveness of the open access ‘hub’ model of early intervention and prevention support for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Timeline
Recommendation age
3.0 yrs
Report published
18 May 2023