I work in child mental health – government plans will fail many who need help | Robin Barker

When I dream of what the system could look like I see possibilities, but current plans don’t capture that vision

I never dreamed of becoming a mental health nurse and working in child and adolescent mental health services (Camhs). I was a youth worker, a Connexions adviser supporting young people’s mental health without referrals or thresholds and my office was the local park, schools, colleges and community centres.

The introduction of austerity and the funding cuts that followed in 2008 left me out of a job and in need of a new profession. After retraining as a mental health nurse, I returned to the same work but with an NHS employer and saw those cuts follow me into Camhs. They have been difficult times to manage both professionally and personally; when less money means you can deliver less of a service, the impact is felt not only by the young people and their families not getting support, damage is also wrought on relationships with local communities, schools, colleges and GPs.

Related: Mental health support in schools: 'Families don’t have to spend years on waiting lists'

Related: As a teenage boy with anorexia I couldn't find words to describe my mental illness

Continue reading... February 28, 2018 at 05:19PM