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Mental Health Solicitors

Essex County Council seeks feedback on children’s and young people’s mental health services (4 July 2016)

Date: 04/07/2016
Duncan Lewis, Mental Health Solicitors, Essex County Council seeks feedback on children’s and young people’s mental health services

Essex County Council is inviting residents to share their experiences of children and young people’s mental health services in the county.

Essex County Council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) is asking the public how available and easy to access Essex’s mental health services for children and young people are – as well as the quality of the service provided.

The information is being gathered as evidence for a review of services, which has been prompted by the publication on Wednesday (29/06/16) of Healthwatch Essex’s YEAH! 2 report, which outlines young people’s views on their experience of mental health services.

The YEAH! 2 report states that young people are asking for more information to be published about services, in order to help raise awareness and highlight that the type of services available do not always meet their expectations and needs.

Difficulties around the transition between children’s and adult mental health services are also highlighted in the report.

Feedback can be sent to scrutiny@essex.gov.uk until Monday, 4 August – and any feedback should relate to experiences within the last six months, focusing on experiences of accessibility of mental health services, signposting – and how well services met the needs of children and young people.

Any information is welcome in any form, but responses to the following questions are particularly helpful, says the council:

1. To what extent is information about services available? Think particularly about what environments you might want to see it in (e.g. schools, colleges, GPs etc).

2. How successfully are people directed to information about services at the right time (ie at an early enough stage)? How do you think this could be improved?

3. If you were referred to a service by someone (for example by a GP or social worker) how did that process work? How satisfied were you, how quickly did it happen and how could it have been better?

4. Have you ever found that you (or a close relative or friend) were not eligible for a service that you felt was needed? What were the reasons given for not being able to access the service?

5. Have you (or a close relative or friend) found a service that you were using was not suitable for you or unsatisfactory? If so how could it have been better?

6. If you (or a close relative or friend) have moved between different mental health services, how satisfied were you with that experience and how could it have been better?

7. If you are a parent or carer, how have you found the process of seeking help and services in a time of crisis?

8. If you are a young person or parent/carer, do you feel there is enough information available about the importance of mental health and emotional wellbeing? If you are a young person, have you been provided with information about mental health issues before and if so, where?

Healthwatch Essex CEO, Dr Tom Nutt, said:

“We have looked at the experience of young people by engaging with over 800 of them – and really getting into the detail of what works for them and where services don’t align with their needs or expectations.”

The review was instigated by Chairman of the HOSC, Councillor Jill Reeves, who said:

“We felt that the findings from the YEAH 2 report warranted further investigation.

“We intend to speak to commissioners and providers – as well as residents –
with the hope that it will influence improvements where they are needed.”

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is the UK’s largest provider of Legal Aid mental health services and can advise mental health patients on a wide range of issues – including access to NHS mental health services and detention under the Mental Health Act.

Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors regularly visit NHS hospitals and police stations to advise on mental health law – and are available nationwide at short notice for hospital and police station appointments.

In some cases, Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors may be able to advise the nearest relative or carer of a mental health patient on a range of issues, including initiating treatment reviews where appropriate.

For expert legal advice on mental health law, call the Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors Helpline on 0333 772 0409.


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