The Go-To Website backs Children’s Mental Health Week campaign

With Children’s Mental Health Week beginning on 1 February, NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is encouraging young people to visit the ‘The Go-To’ for advice and support. As we continue in another lockdown, it’s more important than ever to share how we’re feeling with others and encourage young people to express themselves. The…

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Autism assessments for children and young people in Scarborough and Ryedale go online

A new online assessment model has been developed by autism experts at The Retreat York so they can continue to assess children and young people – without families being asked to attend face-to-face appointments during the Covid-19 pandemic. The autism assessment service for children in Scarborough and Ryedale (associated with GP practices in the former…

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Pilot scheme launched to tackle children and young people’s sleep issues

The Sleep Charity, an award-winning voluntary organisation based in Doncaster, has been commissioned to provide a sleep support service for children and young people in Scarborough, parts of Ryedale and Whitby. This is a 12-month pilot project and was set up by the former NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)*. Families living in…

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New website to be launched to help young people access mental health services in North Yorkshire

A
new website is set to be launched this autumn, dedicated to helping children
and young people find mental health support in North Yorkshire.

The
new website will be a portal or ‘single point of information’ for the many
mental health support services offered by different agencies in the county.

It
is being developed by NHS Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby CCG on behalf of
North Yorkshire County Council and neighbouring CCGs (NHS Airedale, Wharfedale
and Craven CCG, NHS Harrogate and Rural District CCG, NHS Scarborough and
Ryedale CCG and NHS Vale of York CCG) and will promote services within the
existing North Yorkshire County Council boundary.

Young
people from North Yorkshire Young Minds Combined – a group made up of
representatives from the City of York Youth Council, The North Yorkshire Youth
Commission, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust’s NHS Youth Forum, Show
Me That I Matter (York’s Children in Care Council) and the North Yorkshire
Youth Voice Executive – are also helping to design the new website and will
decide on what it is called.

It’s
thought around one in three young people suffer mental health troubles. North
Yorkshire County Council and clinical commissioning groups in York and North
Yorkshire are committed to supporting young people and young people’s mental
health.

County
Councillor Janet Sanderson, Executive Member for the Children and Young
People’s Service, said: “Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of North
Yorkshire’s young people is a priority for our services. We therefore welcome
this initiative and the fact young people themselves will be involved in the
design and the name of the website.”

NHS
Scarborough and Ryedale CCG Associate Chair and the clinical lead for mental
health in North Yorkshire, Dr Peter Billingsley, said: “Mental health services
for children and young people are delivered by a range of different organisations
in North Yorkshire and York. We know it can sometimes be difficult for a young
person to find the right help.

“This
website will signpost a young person to the most appropriate support and will
have lots of useful tips and information to help a young person cope with
stress or anxiety.”

Jason
Parkinson, Chair of the North Yorkshire Youth Voice Executive, added: “Having
suffered myself and known many other young people who have suffered with mental
health issues, I know how hard it can be to find the right support in the vast
web of different services available for young people.

“This
website will offer an accessible way for young people to find the right support
for themselves and their own needs without having to go through endless
referrals and conflicting advice.”

As well as help and advice for young people, the
new website – due to be launched in September – will have resources to support
parents and carers. It will also contain a section for GPs and other
professionals who work with children and young people.

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Behavioural services in Scarborough – statement

Following extensive clinical and
managerial discussions between York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and
NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) regarding
children and young people’s behavioural services in Scarborough, the Trust made
the decision that it is no longer the appropriate provider for this specialist
service.

In December 2018 the Trust informed the
CCG of this decision and supported the CCG in identifying alternative
specialist mental health providers for these services.

These providers have now
been lined up by NHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG and families will be written
to and informed of the new arrangements for their child as soon as contract
arrangements have been finalised.

A small number of
children will be referred back to their GP to discuss future care options.

The behavioural
services included in the new provision will include children and young people’s
autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnostic
assessments, as well as referrals for behavioural problems where there may also
be health concerns to be addressed. These services will continue to be provided
in Scarborough.

The majority of Community
Paediatric and Children’s Therapy services provided by York Teaching Hospital
NHS Foundation Trust are unaffected by these changes and will continue to be
provided in Scarborough.

Dr Peter Billingsley, NHS
Scarborough and Ryedale CCG Associate Chair, said: “The decision of our local
Trust has given us an opportunity to bring forward plans for developing more
specialist and tailored services for some of our most vulnerable children and
their families, and we will continue to do this over the coming year in
partnership with North Yorkshire County Council and others.

“Ultimately, our
ambition is to reduce waiting times and speed up diagnosis so we can help more
families in Scarborough and Ryedale.

“The Trust is working
closely and very positively with the CCG and the new providers to minimise
disruption and make sure all of the children who are on the caseload now, and
who have been referred in more recently, will be transferred safely and
communications will be going out to all those families over the next couple of
weeks.”

Across North
Yorkshire, clinical commissioning groups are facing similar issues and over the
next 12 months the CCGs will be working together to review all behavioural
service models, alongside partners including GPs, the local authority, children
and their families to see how services can work better together to develop a
robust and sustainable model and reduce the waiting times for these behaviour
services going forward.  

In the meantime
children and their families should continue to access health services through
their GP as required, and if parents and families require information or advice
they are requested to visit the NHS website when seeking assistance in
addressing behaviour concerns at https://www.nhs.uk/

Parents, families or
carers can access North Yorkshire County Council services for advice,
information and support which includes the Healthy Child Programme (Health
Visitors and School Nurses) by visiting the websites below for details:

There are also a
number of charities which provide useful information and support around
children’s behaviour issues:

If there are any other identified health needs or concerns then families should contact their GP for advice, support and onward referral as required to other core health services which can address these health needs.

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