LONG overdue investment to support children at risk of developing mental health problems has been secured, achieving one of the Evening Mail's Healthy Young Minds campaign goals.


Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has signed up to the Children and Young Peoples Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme, a national incentive which helps children with mild or moderate disorders such as anxiety and depression.

The scheme will provide talking therapies in Barrow and across the county, filling a gap in offering early intervention and emotional well-being support.

No such provision was previously available in Cumbria by the NHS.

Healthy Young Minds had pressed for more focus on treating mental illness early as many referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, the tier-three service provided by CPFT to support those with serious mental health issues, could have been prevented if care was given at an earlier stage.

Sara Munro, director for quality and nursing and deputy chief executive of CPFT, said: "The programme is giving clinicians at all levels the tools to ensure youngsters are given the most appropriate service for their needs in a more timely way.

"It also ensures that the improvements are measurable so can be used to continually improve and develop services where the need is greatest for our county’s children.

"In addition, specific training in working with families of youngsters who have eating disorders means that for the first time in Cumbria, we can support those with eating disorders and their families."

The investment aims to extend the current Camhs provision, secure extra training for practitioners in cognitive behavioural therapy, deliver a parent training programme, and liaise with other local services.

It is hoped that the focus on mild disorders, traditionally tier-two issues, will cut the number of patients who end up requiring more intensive tier-three support and instead allow them to be discharged earlier.

The case load of Camhs in south Cumbria has increased from 522 in 2010/11 to 1,057 in 2014/15.

Feedback from a carers meeting held at Hindpool Community Centre last year included setting up group sessions for children to openly discuss mental illness and ensuring there was consistency in who was responsible for a child's treatment and when.

Dr Munro said: "We want children and young people to be involved in shaping the future of services for those with mental health issues.

"We are working on setting up a series of service user groups across the county."

The Healthy Young Minds campaign hopes to secure positive outcomes in three criteria - fairer funding in NHS mental health services in Cumbria, improving access to specialist support and making sure warning signs for mental illness are identified and treated early.