Improving Mental Health Services Access for Children and Young People

Children and young people’s mental health services (CYPMHS) at Liverpool and Sefton Clinical Commissioning Groups referrals were paper-based. Paper-based referrals are inefficient and generate delays between appointments, which negatively affects children and young people’s (CYP) mental health. Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust co-created the “CYP as One” with partner agencies to improve mental health services access for children and young people. “CYP as One” went live in May 2021.

“CYP as One” was originally co-created via a partnership of agencies, including Health, CYP, parents, and third sector agencies. Building on this work, the project will engage with CYP from diverse communities, including from ethnically diverse backgrounds, digital inequalities and deprivation. At the onset of the project, the co-creation group will be established underpinned by smaller interest-focus groups (e.g. ethnic minority, LGBTQ+). This process will focus on co-producing a platform that will meet the diverse need of the city region.

To assess if the online referral systems work better than the paper-based system, the project will compare how the platform is working now and how the paper-based system worked previously for the same period of 12 months. Health outcomes such as the number of referrals, length of waiting for a first appointment, and staff and patient satisfaction with the process will be compared. Furthermore, the project team  will ask a diverse group of young people from underrepresented or disadvantaged communities, what they think about the platform and how it can be improved. This information will be used to further the development of the platform.

The research process and findings will be used to create the blueprint for future versions of the platform incorporating the views of a more diverse community, ensuring those are incorporated into the Integrated Care System (ICS).

Team

Victoria Furfie (Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust),

Dr Raphaella Ganga, ( Liverpool John Moores University)

Grahame Smith (Liverpool John Moores University),

Dr Gemma Trainor (University of Salford)

Kristoff Santa (Research Assistant, Liverpool John Moores University)