NHS England has put £500,000 into funding eight pilot schemes for the development of child mental health services.
The schemes are being run in eight areas – each getting up to £75,000 – and will reassess how Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are commissioned and ‘try to affect change through new ideas’, NHS England said.
The pilots are being run in conjunction with the Government’s new ‘Task Force’ on mental health in children and young people, with the funding coming from money for mental health services pledged by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in October.
The pilots, which were selected from 94 bids, will be in Devon, Derbyshire, Newcastle, Tameside and Glossop, Norfolk, Southampton and Wolverhampton.
Care and support minister Norman Lamb said: ‘I am absolutely determined to make sure any child with a mental health problem gets the best possible care, which is why I convened a taskforce to look at how we can improve services. I congratulate these regions for their innovative work, which will help us transform care for young people across the country.
‘I’m also really grateful to the 94 areas that submitted proposals – this shows a remarkable appetite for change. There is a growing consensus that we can improve the way we commission and organise children and young people’s mental health services.’
Dr Martin McShane, NHS England’s director for people with long-term conditions, said: ‘We want to accelerate breaking down barriers in the system and give commissioners, across a range of organisations, the time and space to take a step back and consider new and more effective ways of working.’
