Felicity shares this response from The Isle of Wight Youth Trust to the damning CQC Report Ed
The Isle of Wight Youth Trust, a leading independent charity supporting under 25s, has raised concerns about the level of care available to young Islanders facing mental health difficulties following today’s publication of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Report.
The report revealed serious failings in mental health services, rating statutory services for young adults as ‘inadequate’ and for children ‘requires improvement’.
Serious concerns about treatment received
Youth Trust Executive Director, Mairead Healy commented,
“This report gives us a clear indication of the Care Quality Commission’s views on mental health services on the Island. It raises some serious concerns about the treatment our children and young people receive when seeking help for mental health issues.
“We believe the underlying message is that services are out-of-touch with the needs of young Islanders. The report suggests a lack of a young person-centred approach in the provision of mental health services and a failing to treat each young person with dignity, especially those of working age.
“This report should be a catalyst for real change and a wake-up call to all. It’s time we heard young people’s voices. We want to know directly from our young people, what are their needs and what are their experiences of accessing support in their hour of greatest need. That’s why we will be conducting an Island Youth Mental Health Census during Mental Health Awareness Week in May.
“This will enable us to gain a snapshot of young people’s experiences of accessing mental health services on the Island. We will be working in partnership with schools and other community providers in order to facilitate this and will be making our findings public, in the hope that it will set the tone for improvement.”
Adequate mental health care provision
She further added,
“Our children and young people deserve the best care available, and we see our work here at the Youth Trust as part of the solution. As the largest third sector provider of child and youth mental health services on the Island, we are committed to working together with the NHS to improve mental health outcomes.
“As an Island we face some unique problems and it is important that we work together to address these, in partnership with statutory services as well as other providers supporting our young people.
“The report is a timely reminder of the need for adequate mental health care provision, and a joined-up approach to achieving this.
“The Youth Trust, as an independent charity, with a history of bridging the gaps between statutory service provision and community need, is committed to working with the NHS to improve the level of care available to our children and young people.
“We hope that our 32 years of experience, championing the emotional well-being of under 25s on the Island, will be constructive as the NHS faces the challenges highlighted by the CQC today.”
Image: Seth Dickens under CC BY 2.0
