Child and adolescent mental health services

This Clinical Reference Group (CRG) covers secure and non-secure Child and young people mental health services (CYPMH), inclusive of eating disorders (male and female) services.

Scope

The CRG has a robust workplan for 2019-22, providing expert clinical leadership to enable and support:

  • The effective commissioning of CAMHS services, nationally, regionally and through NHS-led Provider Collaboratives, adopting a whole pathway approach
  • Enabling delivery of seamless community-based care, reducing reliance in all but the most complex cases for treatment in hospital settings.
  • Ensuring inequalities are identified and addressed
  • Increasing personalisation and technology-based approaches to care modalities
  • Learning from the impact of COVID-19

The key delivery areas cover:

  • Measuring and improving quality
  • Improving value and reducing unwarranted variation
  • Effective commissioning
  • Transformation

The Work Programme of the CRG is discharged through the following working groups:

  • Eating Disorder Task and Finish
  • Quality and Data
  • Learning Disability & Autism
  • Provider Collaborative Clinical Forum
  • Workforce

The CAMHS CRG and working groups work closely with the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme and the National Quality Improvement Taskforce for Children and Young People’s Mental Health Inpatients.

Membership

  • National clinical director: TBC
  • Lead Commissioner: Andrew Simpson
  • Clinical Members: TBC
  • Patient and Public Voice: Anne Beresford and Leanne Walker

Supporting carer involvement in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

Parents, carers and families of children and young people who access CAMHS services have a vital contribution to make to the commissioning process as experts by experience. Engaging with parents, carers, families  and enabling  them to get involved in CAMHS services should be a priority for providers and commissioners as it helps to ensure positive healthcare experiences for everyone involved.

Products

A key part of the CRG’s work is the delivery of the ‘products’ of commissioning. These are the tools used by the 7 regions and 18 LPCS to contract services on an annual basis.

Service Specifications

Service specifications are important in clearly defining the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England to provide specialised care. The specifications have been developed by specialised clinicians, professionals, commissioners, experts by experience (patients, carers, families), and public health representatives to describe both core and developmental service standards. Core standards are those that all funded providers should be able to demonstrate, with developmental standards being those which may require further changes in practice over time to provide excellence in the field.

The following service specifications fall within the scope of this CRG:

Commissioned

CYPMH Secure Transitions and CYP Transfer and remissions guidance

Get involved

If you are interested in the work of the xx CRG or its NPOC, you can register as stakeholder.

For details on our latest consultations please visit the NHS England consultation hub.

Get in contact

For any questions or queries relating to the work of the xx CRG or its NPOC, please contact: england.specmh@nhs.net