Mental Health Solicitors

A partnership between the City of York Council, the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and York schools has agreed funding to roll out a pilot project to further improve the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people across the whole city.

Under the scheme, each of York’s six geographical clusters of schools will have a dedicated School Wellbeing Worker, who will build on a successful pilot undertaken in 2015-2016 – the results of which helped secure funding from the national Children’s Mental Health Transformation Programme, “Futures in Mind”.

The pilot project involved three secondary and 17 primary schools – and the next stage will involve all of York’s schools.

Funded by City of York Council (CYC), the schools and the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group, the pilot introduced a new form of partnership working between the council, the city’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and schools, to strengthen the emotional and mental health support arrangements for children and young people in school settings.

Councillor Stuart Rawlings – City of York Council’s Executive Member for Education, Children and Young People – said:

“I’m delighted with this new funding and that this project will continue.

“While the health and wellbeing of children in York is generally better than England’s average, we recognise the importance of giving high-quality advice and support as soon as concerns emerge.

“Extending the pilot arrangements will ensure support is available from confident and capable professionals within the school community, as part of a co-ordinated response that cuts across organisational boundaries.”

GP Lead for Mental Health at NHS Vale of York CCG, Dr Louise Barker, added:

“One of the CCG’s key priorities is to ensure high-quality mental health services for the Vale of York, with increased awareness of mental health conditions and improved diagnosis.

“Children and young people spend a lot of time within the school environment – this scheme ensures that they have access to high-quality mental health services throughout their school lives, with raised awareness and reduced stigma of talking about and dealing with these issues.

“The School Wellbeing Workers will provide learning and development for school staff, to identify issues as soon as they arise – work will also be done to signpost and encourage children and young people to seek the support of the School Wellbeing Workers as soon as they need it.

“The feedback from the initial cluster projects was extremely encouraging –and to have this project rolled out across the city is a really positive step for partnership working and improved emotional and mental wellbeing for everyone in our local community.”

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.