Northamptonshire Health and Care Partnership has published a new report to outline its engagement priorities for children and young people. The report has been produced following research compiled during the summer and autumn of 2020.
The report used a combination of surveys and focus groups to gain a better understanding of children and young people in the area, with 377 children and younger people participating.
The research showed that mental health is a key issue among 11-19-year-olds, with those asked which service had they used before. The top four services were Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), School Nursing, Youth Counselling and CAMHS Crisis, all of which provide mental health support. Parents and carers also highlighted mental health as a key issue.
The mental health section of the survey, specified waiting times, availability and demand as areas to improve upon.
Digital engagement was addressed in the report with face to face support still being preferred but those new to the services preferred to access services through WhatsApp or text messaging. A number of obstacles to digital access were highlighted, including age, location and disability.
As part of the NHCP Children and Young People Transformation Programme, a brand new Northamptonshire Children’s Charter will be released, and will outline the needs of the children and young people in the Northamptonshire area, with more information about the charter to be released in the coming weeks.
Five recommendations have been published at the end of the report:
- The CCG, Public Health and our system partners should continue to engage with children and young people, parents and carers, and ensure their voice is heard.
- This report is published on public facing websites across Northamptonshire to acknowledge our grateful thanks to all respondents and participants and so that the CCG and Public Health can publically articulate their commitment to our children and young people.
- Service-specific feedback is shared with those services so that it can be used as a basis for future development.
- A number of “I” statements, such as I need to have my information treated in confidence and my privacy respected, If I use online services, I need to feel confident that it is safe to do so, I need professionals to listen to and understand me, I do not want to feel judged, I need to feel safe, these need be shared with providers to form the basis of the transformation programme.
- It is recommended that the feedback gained from children young people, parents, carers, services and stakeholders a part of this engagement programme is used – alongside data, performance measures and an understanding of wider system health priorities – to create a series of syste transformation priorities.
The link to the full report is here.
