Children and young people in Scotland are facing a mental health crisis. Research commissioned by Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC) paints a worrying picture, where nearly six in 10 families in Scotland have a child who has experienced a mental health concern at some point in their life.
This impacts not just the child but the whole family, who feel they have nowhere to turn, no one to support their child, and no one to support them. This is wrong. And we need to change it.
In response to consultations with families, this week we have opened our new pilot service, The Haven, modelled on our existing and highly successful Hub at Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP). The Haven is a community-based drop-in service being launched in Tranent, East Lothian, but with the potential to be available to all children and young people with a mental health concern, and their families, across Scotland.
The service is unique because it has been designed by the families who need the service. It will help families through the challenges that having a child who struggles with their mental health can bring.
We are behind the curve in Scotland on what mental health is and what it means. A mental health difficulty in a child impacts the child, for sure, but it goes far wider. More often than not, it can create a family in crisis.
We need to start supporting the whole family; the child, the parent, the grandparent, the auntie, the carer, whomever is closest to the child in need.
The Haven will be a relaxed and informal setting with a range of activities we know children and young people, and their families, will enjoy. From games and crafts to cups of tea and listening ears, it will be a model of what we think is needed to help arrest the trend of mental ill health among Scotland’s young people. Our team will be there on the good days, the bad days, and everything in between.
Every family will have their own "pal’" a trained team member who can support them along their child’s mental health journey. We think of them as coaches; just like many of us need a coach for our physical welfare, we also often need a coach for our mental welfare. It’s really no different.
We will also work in partnership with the local community to find every child and young person who needs our support. While The Haven is a psychologically-informed service, it’s not a crisis or clinical service and does not duplicate or replace anything offered by the NHS. At its best, it may negate a family’s need for future access to medical support, alleviating the pressures on CAMHS.
As one parent told us, “Any parent of a child with mental health issues would like to wave a magic wand and heal them completely. But in the absence of that, just knowing that you’re not alone makes all the difference.”
Will this work? Will it be better? We think so, but time will tell.
One thing we do know, though, is that there’s no time to wait.
Roslyn Neely is Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Children's Hospital Charity
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