Process for new CAMHS contract underway
Health bosses have started the procurement for a new Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) contract.
The initiative, led by NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin (NHS STW), will be jointly commissioned with local authorities, reflecting an integrated approach to the commissioning of mental health services for children and young people.
The current service, also known as BeeU, supports children and young people up to 25 with emotional wellbeing and mental health, offering neurodevelopmental assessments for autism (ages five to 18) and ADHD (six to 18), community eating disorder services (0 to 18), and online support via Kooth (11 to 25). Specialist online services are also available through Healios.
To support the process, NHS STW said a full review and redesign was carried out to develop a more effective, sustainable model that improves access, experience, and outcomes for local children, young people, and their families.
In addition, extensive engagement took place throughout 2024, followed by a six-week engagement exercise between January and March of this year. Children, young people, and parents and carers, along with mental health professionals and other stakeholders were invited to share their views and help shape future improvements.
Almost 500 people responded which included a mixture of online survey responses and discussions facilitated by trusted adults who had a relationship with children and young people.
All the insight gathered has been summarised into the engagement report and has been used to develop the final service specification.
Gemma Smith, director of commissioning at NHS STW, said: “Hearing directly from our children and young people and their families is crucial.
“It is so important for us to capture those views and opinions from people, particularly those who have experience of the services and have tried to or are using the current CAMHS services.
“The experiences and suggestions from children and young people and their families or carers helps us to understand what is working well, where the challenges are and how we can work to improve. This feedback shapes the future service to meet the changing needs of local people.”
