Thursday 15 October 4.15 – 5.15pm, Solent Hall
One of the privileges of my role is the chance to be involved in a number of projects dedicated to improving lives for some of society’s most vulnerable citizens. Co-chairing the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce with NHS England’s Dr Martin McShane in 2014/15 was a case in point. We were tasked with corralling expertise to find ways to improve how mental health services are organised, commissioned and provided and to make it easier for young people to find help and support when and where they need it.
Our report ‘Future in mind’, published under the previous Government in March 2015, established a clear and powerful consensus about the need for change across the whole system. Since then, a national programme of work has been underway, underpinned by local areas working hard to develop regional transformation plans to improve their offer across health, social care, education and youth justice sectors. This is what is needed to secure sustainable and system-wide change.
Just over six months into the new Parliament and the commitment to drive forward the transformation of children and young people’s mental health services remains. The true measure of success will be improving quality, access and availability across the country, giving young people the help and support they need when they need it. However, this is not just about services. Simply just doing more of the same is not an option. Unless we make real changes across the whole system, opportunities to build resilience, promote good mental health and intervene early when problems first arise, will continue to be missed.
So, this week at NCAS, I’m looking forward to delivering a joint session with NHS England’s Dr Jacqueline Cornish, National Clinical Director for Children, Young People and Transition to Adulthood, as together we present a national perspective and invite discussion on the progress, challenges and next steps for the work programme and the wider agenda.
Delegates will be invited to consider and share their experiences of the past six months - from both a national and local perspective, with speakers from Derby and Dorset, as well as insight from those who matter most – the children and young people we seek to help. They have told us they want to be supported to fulfil their goals and ambitions, to be able to grow up confident and resilient; to know where to find help easily if they need it and not have to wait until they are really unwell to get help.
Make no mistake - this is just the beginning of a long term strategy. The local transformation plans signal the start of working towards the vision for 2020 and beyond. Working together is integral to secure sustainable system wide service transformation with the momentum to deliver the improvements needed.
This session is not just about process – it’s also about creating a culture of better oversight and earlier intervention. Prioritising good mental health will help make sure more children and young people get the best start in life. Join this session and share your views on how we can all help deliver these changes together.
