The #AVeryDifferentConversation survey is now closed. Thank you to everyone who took part. We’re now reviewing the results and will reconsider the proposed changes in response to the feedback.
These pages contain information about the proposed changes to mental health services for children, young people and families. You can still use these pages to learn about the current plans. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us:
Email: wsh-tr.mhprogrammeteam@nhs.net
Phone number: 0800 389 6819
From November 2020, once we’ve heard what everybody thinks, we will work with our co-production partners to see if we need to adapt the plans and make changes. We’ll then let you know what changes have been made as a result of the feedback we received. This will be early next year.
The next stage will be to take these plans and make them a reality for service users, carers and staff. This will all take some time. The new services will start to become available from summer 2021.
What’s on this page:
- Animated video which explains the changes
- Conversations that have happened so far, and what you’ve told us
- A video of young people’s lived experiences and opinions – in their own words
- Who we’ve worked with
- What the new services will look like
- Video messages from our project team explaining the plans
- A video from a young person sharing their experiences
- Frequently asked questions
- The survey
Work in healthcare, social care or education? Take a look at our workforce page, which has some information for professionals.
We’ve tried our best to make sure everyone can take part. The information is presented in captioned videos with written transcripts. Also in written form and diagrams. Information about the Learning Disabilities and Autism Services is available in Easy Read. The survey can also be accessed in an Easy Read format.
If you would prefer to access the information in a different way, please get in touch.
Animated video which explains the changes
Watch our animated video for an overview of what you told us needed to be improved, the changes we’ve planned in response, and examples of how that will affect people living in Suffolk.
View this video full-size on Vimeo or read the full script.
What we’re hoping to achieve with the new service
#AVeryDifferentConversation gave us the opportunity to hear from children, young people and families as well as staff working within our organisations about how our mental health services could be better. We have continued to work in this way and now want to check that we are putting the changes in place that are most important.
We are working to establish a joined-up, family focused response to all children, young people and families presenting with emotional, behavioural or mental health needs.
An important and big area of work is to train and enable people (including families, schools, doctors, social care and voluntary sector organisations) to be confident to have a conversation, to listen, to recognise signs of emotional and mental health problems and to know how to bring in more expert, specialist help if it is required.
You have told us you would like:
- Workers to be patient, kind, calm and non-judgemental – you called this the ‘ideal worker’
- Where it is needed help should be quickly available – in a place and at a time that works for you
- Plans to be agreed together and shared with others to enable a joined-up way of working
The videos and other resources help to explain how we want things to change. During September and October 2020, we asked you to complete a survey to let us know if we’d got things right.
Young people’s lived experiences, in their own words
In this video, some of the young people we worked with share their own experiences of mental healthcare in east and west Suffolk. These voices formed part of the foundation on which we built our plans.
View this video full-size on YouTube.
Who have we worked with?
To make sure we heard from as many children, young people and families as possible, we worked with:
- Suffolk County Council
- Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust
- East Suffolk and North East Essex Foundation Trust
- West Suffolk Foundation Trust
- Suffolk GP Federation
- Suffolk Parent Carer Network
- Suffolk Family Carers
- Healthwatch Suffolk
- 4YP
- Young People’s Engagement Hub
- School Mental Health Teams
- Integrated Community Paediatric Service
We will continue to work with our co-production partners until the services have been made live. This is planned for summer 2021.
What will the services look like?
This diagram illustrates how the proposed new services will actually meet the needs of children, young people and families.
Ways you can view this:
1. Click on the image to enlarge it
2. View as a PDF
If you need this diagram in an alternative format, please get in touch at wsh-tr.mhprogrammeteam@nhs.net.
Additional notes on stages of this service (correlating to the numbers on the image):
1. The right person will be skilled to support access and provide early intervention to children, young people and families, they could be from:
- Schools
- GP Practice
- Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise Organisations
- Social Care
- Early Help
They will support children, young people, and families to navigate the system to get the right support they need.
2. Additional support from a mental health practitioner can be requested to offer consultation and advice without the need to make a referral to enable focused early intervention.
Reasonable adjustments will be made so the service can support people with special education needs, learning disabilities and autism.
3. Dedicated support and direct intervention will be easily accessible to provide dedicated mental health support when needed and provide consultation support to the early intervention function, this will include Learning disability mental health services to provide both consultation and direct interventions.
Reasonable adjustments will be made so the service can support people with special education needs, learning disabilities and autism.
4. If access to specialist services is identified this can be done at any point in the journey including the first conversation.
Reasonable adjustments will be made so the service can support people with special education needs, learning disabilities and autism.
5. If a Specialist Assessment is requested, it will be co-ordinated and completed within 18 weeks from date of referral to identification of need/diagnosis. This includes specialist Assessments for ASD/ADHD/SPD.
There will be an emphasis on ‘support plan’ not diagnosis.
Reasonable adjustments will be made so the service can support people with special education needs, learning disabilities and autism.
Beth Mosley explains our plans
Beth is an educational psychologist based at Thurston Community College. She works for Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.
View this video full-size on Vimeo or read the full script.
Anne Humphrys describes how we’ve got here and what will change
Anne is co-chair of the Suffolk Parent Carer Network. As part of our project team, Anne has helped facilitate conversations with parents and carers in Suffolk.
View this video full-size on Vimeo or read the full script.
Kevin Beardsworth discusses the changes we have planned
Kevin Beardsworth works for Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, and is a member of the Children, young people and families’ mental health services project team.
View this video full-size on Vimeo or read the full script.
A young person shares their story
In this video, a young person shares their own experiences of mental ill-health, and how the children, young people and families’ mental health services could have better helped them and their friends.
View this video full-size on Vimeo or read the full script.
Frequently asked questions
We’ve put together a list of queries we think you might have. If you’ve got a question that’s not on this list, please email us at wsh-tr.mhprogrammeteam@nhs.net
We’ll answer your question as soon as we can. And if we think your query would be helpful to other people, we’ll add it to this list. Don’t worry, though, all questions asked will be anonymous.
1. What skills will people have that I might come into contact with?
All people that children, young people, and families come into contact with should be an ideal worker. An ideal worker should be someone who:
- Is patient, kind, friendly and compassionate
- Listens to you
- Allows you to take your own time
- Is able to remain calm
- Doesn’t expect too much from you
- Understands that not one size fits all
- Goes the extra mile
- Is able to give appropriate and sensitive response
- Has knowledge of conditions and services
- Praises achievement and gives back positive feedback
- Doesn’t use labels like ‘attention seeking’
- Is able to recognise sign of emotional and mental health problems
- Give you space when you need it
- Doesn’t cut you off or make assumptions
- Tries to understand your behaviour and doesn’t assume young people are just being naughty
- Is non-judgmental and takes you seriously
- Respects your individuality
- Has good signposting skills
2. How will people that are not mental health workers be able to support me in the new model?
Early Help and Early Years teams (which includes pre-schools, nurseries, Children’s Centers, Health Visitors, and Family Support Practitioners) will be equipped with the skills, knowledge and understanding to identify need and provide early support and intervention.
The workforce throughout all education settings (mainstream primary, secondary, further and higher education) will have the skills to identify need and the capacity to support children and young people to remain mentally and emotionally well.
3. I have a learning disability; can I use the new services?
Yes, those with a learning disability and or autism will be able to access the all aspects of the new model (both universal and specialist services) with reasonable adjustments.
4. Will I have to wait for long periods of time to access specialist services?
Children, Young People and their families will not have to wait unreasonable amounts of time to access Specialist support services (this includes diagnostic services) when they are needed. Reasonable waiting times for specialist services mean children, young people and families can access services when they are needed, therefore reducing avoidable hospital admissions and children and young people in crisis. The reduction of clinical thresholds and barriers for specialist services will make it easier to access to the right support when it is needed.
5. What ages will the children, young person and family services see?
The new model will be from birth up to 25 years.
Please note – this survey is now closed.
The survey was available to complete digitally and in Easy Read format.
What happens now?
These plans are not yet finalised. We need to understand how the suggested service developments will feel for service users, carers and the workforce. That’s why your comments are so important to us. Your feedback will support the development of the plans for the future of Suffolk’s mental health services.
From November, once we’ve heard what everybody thinks, we will work with our co-production partners to see if we need to adapt the plans and make changes. We’ll then let you know what changes have been made as a result of the feedback we received. This will be early next year.
The next stage will be to take these plans and make them a reality for service users, carers and staff. This will all take some time. The new services will start to become available from summer 2021.
Go back to the main #AVeryDifferentConversation page, or visit one of the other priority pages:
