NHS Grampian’s Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Team brought together more than 40 organisations and services this week.
All offer local support to children, young people and their families, and the event was planned in a bid to ensure the best possible support is offered to those who need it from the full range of organisations open to them.
The CAMHS Connections networking event took place online on Tuesday, 20 September, providing an opportunity for professionals to come together and learn from each other about the breadth of resources available locally to support children and young people as they experience challenges with their mental health. More than 200 individuals took part and feedback from the event has been really positive so far.
CAMHS Service Manager Amanda Farquharson explains: “At CAMHS we support individuals aged 0 – 18 who experience persistent, complex or severe difficulties that have a negative impact on their day-to-day lives. These difficulties may be emotional, behavioural and/or mental health related.
“But we’re only one part of the picture when it comes to supporting young people and their families, and particularly when it comes to addressing early calls for help.”
We work alongside social work, education and educational psychology colleagues to ensure children and young people are supported at school and in the community. Those core teams work with many organisations and services who all have an important part to play, and whose service delivery continues to evolve.
“This event has been about pulling everyone together, looking at what is available across Grampian now, exploring opportunities and making links that will improve what is offered to children, young people and families on a day-to-day basis.”
The event has been so popular, the hope is to organise a second conference.
Assistant Psychologist Jennifer Wooley has been working alongside colleagues to bring the event to life. She adds: “We had an overwhelming amount of interest from those we reached out to across Grampian and had to limit the number of presenters on the day as a result. The event ran as a series of online presentations, with time built in for discussion, as well as an information session on what we do at CAMHS and how that fits into the wider picture.
“Presenters were asked to explain more about the services they provide in the local community, who their services support, how children and young people can be referred to them and what their referral criteria are. Making those pathways clearer for all professionals involved in supporting children and young people will improve the experiences families have when it comes to accessing those services.”
Participating organisations included: MCR Pathways, Action for Children, Children First, North East Sensory Services, Child Bereavement UK, Archie Child Bereavement, Families Outside, Avenue, Grampian Autistic Society, Childline, Barnardos, Victim Support Scotland, Educational Psychology, Home Start, Early Intervention, Rape Crisis Grampian, VSA, Autism Outreach, Autism Understanding Scotland, Grampian Women’s Aid, Quarriers (Shire), SensationAll, Penumbra, Kooth, Alcohol & Drugs Action, Befriend A Child, Fit Like Hubs, Aberlour Youth Point, Pathways Moray, Action for Children (Moray), MASH, Moray Women’s Aid, Moray Rape Crisis, Children’s First, Revolution for Good, Moray Wellbeing Hub, ADAPT, SONAS, Quarriers, Quarriers Arrows and Exchange Counselling.
To find out more about the services provided by CAMHS in NHS Grampian, visit: https://www.nhsgrampian.org/service-hub/child-and-adolescent-mental-health-services-camhs-grampian/