Participation in developing youth mental health services: ‘Cinderella Service’ to service re-design

Whilst there are pockets of excellence in the provision of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), many services fail to meet young people’s needs. Considering this, the current research aimed to ascertain perceptions of CAMHS provision in a rural county of the UK to inform re-design of youth mental health services. Design Methodology and Approach: The study comprised of two phases: phase one involved analysis of questionnaire data of youth views of CAMHS. Phase two involved analysis of the ‘Have Your Say’ event data which explored perceptions of CAMHS and future service re-design. Data were thematically analysed. Findings: Knowledge of the existence and purpose of CAMHS was variable. Participants wanted accessible information about services, rights, confidentiality and for this to be provided in multiple medias. Young people wanted staff that are easy to talk to, genuine, understanding and who value their insights. Participants wanted to be offered choice about appointments, location and timing. An ideal mental health service was described as a ‘one-stop-shop’ of co-locality and multi-agency collaboration. Young people clearly expressed a desire to influence the design and delivery of the radical re-design and to be embedded in its development. Practical Implications: The results highlighted multiple problems with CAMHS provision and provided a clear justification for the re-design of services. Originality/value: This was a novel approach demonstrating the importance, utility and power of effective participatory practices for informing the re-design of services