News

So far, we have attended several CYP group meetings and have others penned in for the coming weeks across Lancashire and South Cumbria. We visited Headstart at Blackpool Town Hall and Urpotential at their base on Central Drive in Blackpool but sadly had to postpone an event in Blackburn that we couldn’t attend due to the snow.

Improving mental health support for our Children, Young People, continues to be a top priority for the County Council, the North Cumbria and Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Groups and other stakeholders across Cumbria. Cumbria Children and Young People's Resilience, Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Transformation Plan sets out the key priorities and also the action plan to improve services and outcomes for children, young people and their families across Cumbria.

Time to Change is a growing movement to raise awareness of several issues facing people who have a mental health condition. They are looking to improve attitudes and behaviours around the stigma associated with mental health. The reality is that mental health can affect anyone. Statistically, one in four of us will fight a mental health problem in any given year. Having conversations about mental health helps break down stereotypes, improve relationships, aid recovery and take the stigma out of something that affects us all. There are lots of different ways to have a conversation about mental health. And you don’t have to be an expert to talk.

Christmas is a wonderful time, but it can be quite stressful for us still. Mind have created a small article with some information around work and home life this Christmas. It is aimed at minimising stress, relaxing at home and going into the New Year replenished and re-energised!

Monday 19 November 2018 saw the launch of the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Fund 2019/20 on Children and Young People’s Mental Health. The fund is part of the VCSE Health and Wellbeing Programme and each round focuses on a specific theme.

On 28 November at Blackpool Sixth Form College, a debate took place regarding the effect of social media on young people’s mental health. The debate focused around the effect it had and if interactions on social media were positive for young people or if they adversely affected mental health. The debate was hosted by The Royal College of Psychiatrists (Northwest Division) in partnership with Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Blackpool Sixth Form College and both NHS Blackpool CCG and Blackpool Council. The panels included young people along with two teams of psychiatrists and mental health professionals with an audience of students and staff from local schools (year 10 and year 11) and from Blackpool Sixth Form. After a vote, 60% of people felt that social media was bad for mental health.

A special space has been created in Blackpool Victoria Hospital. The Child and Adolescent Support and Help Enhanced Response (CASHER) team at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust now have their own dedicated safe space where they see children and young people who have may have concerns with regards to their mental health or have any issues they feel they need to discuss. They work from 5pm till 10pm Monday to Friday and from 10am till 8pm at weekends. Bank Holiday times can vary but they cover every day of the year including Xmas Day. They also run two CASHER reach out groups in the community (Blackpool on a Tuesday & Fleetwood on a Wednesday) and run a CASHER Weekend Clinic from 2pm till 3pm every Saturday and Sunday.

Blackburn College has been recognised by Lancashire Mind for their ‘Outstanding Contribution to Men’s Mental Health’. Blackburn College received the award for their hard work and involvement with the ‘Facing Up’ project – a project aimed at empowering young men by giving them the time and the tools to approach mental health problems positively by speaking out and facing up to challenges rather than keeping quiet. In engaging with the campaign, young males at Blackburn College have been supported to face their problems through a series of weekly drop in sessions on-site at the Feilden-street campus, facilitated by Lancashire Mind.

Each year the CYPEWMH programme refresh its transformation plan, we are currently working hard to refresh this year’s plan, looking at what we have achieved so far and planning how we move the transformation over the next 12 months. This year we are working in closer partnership with Morecambe Bay CCG & Cumbria County Council to incorporate their current transformation plan with the Lancashire plan. This will mean we will have one plan that details the work and the forthcoming goals for all of Lancashire and South Cumbria area. As ever, we will be inviting comments on the refreshed plan and will keep you updated how you can have your say within February 2019 newsletter.

£21 million of capital investment from Government for Lancashire and South Cumbria will see the development of an Integrated Acute Mental Health Hub and an upgrade to the emergency department and critical care at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The Care Partnership (Lancashire and South Cumbria Commissioners for CYP Mental Health Services, Providers (Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cumbria Partnership Foundation Trust, East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust), voluntary, community and faith sector (VCFS) providers and service users along with their families) are working together to co-produce a system-wide model of services for children, young people and their families experiencing emotional wellbeing difficulties and/or mental health problems. An in-depth process of co-production, engagement and communication is underway which will inform the redesign of current services around a Thrive-based approach.