The document discusses youth mental health in Kent and proposes the following: 1. Engage young people in developing youth mental health services and improve understanding of issues in communities. 2. Ensure accessible youth-friendly services and support are available. 3. Consider piloting a co-located youth mental health service model in Kent to provide a more robust, youth-oriented service. The service would address social, psychological, and environmental stressors impacting youth well-being.

1. Kent Youth Mental Health
Yasmin Ishaq

2. Youth Mental Health Declaration
1. Engage young people and their families meaningfully
in service development
2. Improve understanding of youth mental health
within communities
3. Ensure access to youth friendly services and support
4. Embrace a youth-focused, strengths based ethos of
care
5. Focus on resilience, hope and recovery

4. WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT KENT
 Kent has a population of approx 1,690,000
 Canterbury has the largest population with 153,200 and Dartford the
smallest with 94,600.
 Kent has 213,300 young people aged 15-24 (12.7%)
 Canterbury has 30,900 YP aged 15-24 (20.1%)
 Thanet has the highest number of households in poverty (26.3%).
 Unemployment in Kent (not including Medway) has increased for YP
under 25 from 1770 (September 2010) to 9005 (September 2011)
 BME make up 7.6% of the population in Kent with the highest % in
Dartford (12.1%) and Gravesham (13.6%)

6. Royal College of GP YMH
Declaration 2011 - Principles
• Belief in young people and their potential
• Respect for all young people
• Protect young people’s right to participate in processes and decisions that affect
them
• Commitment to uncovering the strengths within young people, their families and
communities
• Respect for the right to recovery and social inclusion for all young people
• Value the importance of personal, social, educational and employment outcomes
• Provide accessible, youth-focused services and supports when and where young
people need them
• Respect for the rights of family and friends to participate and feel fully involved

9. KENT PROJECT PLAN
 Investigate whether a youth mental health service model in
Kent would provide a more robust young person orientated
service.
 Understand the social, psychological and environmental
stressors that impact on Kent’s young peoples emotional well
being.
 Listen to the young people of Kent.
 Support the education/awareness of providers who work
with young people in Kent.

10. Some Key Points from focus
groups
• Overwhelmingly, young people felt that they were not being listened to by mental
health professionals
They don’t wanna hurt our feelings, they just wanna walk around the bush…why don’t
you just tell me what’s wrong with me?!
• Young people are all too aware of the stigma attached to having a mental health
problem, and find that this comes from both the outside world and professionals
I was gonna say that is actually the problem in itself, like, making it bad to have a
problem… once I get to grips with the fact that if I do find out that I have a
problem, the point is that it’s fixable.
• When it comes to LGBTQ issues, many young people felt that medical professionals
such as GPs were not approachable and did not know enough about the subject to help
them, even letting their own prejudices affect their practice
You wanna speak to someone with complete confidentiality… maybe a psychologist
would be the best person to go to… get it off your chest, someone you can talk
to… not very accessible though, you have to pay money to tell someone that
you’re gay!

11. HOW PARTICIPANTS WILL USE
THEIR NEW SKILLS AFTER YMHFA
“Everyday
with the
young people
on my
project”
Porchlight
“To be more ready
with young people”
Shaw Trust
“Will use it on
a daily basis”
Sandwich
Technology
School
“Immediately to
develop the
quality of
standards of our
current service”
Platform 51
I will be more aware of
what symptoms to look for
and be able to react
immediately”
Caribbean
teacher/mentor
“To be more aware and
understand how to
help, where to signpost
people that need help”
Charlton Athletic
Community Trust
“It has given me a
better understanding
on how to help young
people”
Charlton Athletic
Community Trust
“back up improve the
support provided to the
children, young people
and adults”
Disability coordinator

12. • The roundtable group chaired by Laura Sandys MP discussed how
the current commissioning of services is split by age.
• The group felt that as these services are commissioned separately
(and based on separate clinical guidance) there are differences in
the support provided and the criteria to gain access.
• The meeting recommend the development of a seamless pathway of
care between CAMHS and AMHS. The meeting suggested that
services co-produce this pathway in partnership with young people
who use mental health services to ensure it is tailored to their
needs. It was also suggested that services are co-located.
Round Table Thanet March 2013

13. • The Margate Task Force offered to discuss the idea of co-
location of services with the local CCG and Health and
Wellbeing Board (HWB)
• When looking into running a pilot in Thanet the meeting felt
the pilot should be run in an easily accessible area; for example
previous pilots in other regions have held the service in local
shopping centres. It should also be something that can be easily
rolled out into all areas of Kent.

14. What Next
• Shift towards greater Public mental health
(social/environmental determinants)
• An orientation towards recovery in local systems and
in services as well as in communities.
• Public health with a much stronger emphasis in
primary care and local authorities.
• Using the vehicle of Health and Wellbeing Boards to
enable commissioning of a service that encourages
collaboration between councils, NHS, vol sector,
communities and the public.
• Promoting the principle of co-production/co-
location

15. continued
• Develop “asset based” approach (using the strength
assets of young people to design the service)
• Designing a service with wellbeing outcomes in mind
• Using established well being evidence in service
design
• MWIA (tool)
• Build community capacity in a more integrated and
coherent way that is responsive to local need.
• pilot YMH service (evidence based and evaluated)

16. Current challenges in Kent
• CAMHS in process of transforming delivery of
services.
• Secondary mental health services delivers by 3
mental health services.
• Adult mental health services in a process o f
transformation
• New commissioning structures