Child and adolescent mental health – a guide for healthcare professionals
June 2006
Strategies for improving care (Wales)
The Welsh National Assembly has identified mental health as one of three key health priorities, and has allocated substantial funding to this area. In 2001 it published the 'Child and adolescent mental health services, everybody’s business' strategy document which sets out a 10-year programme aimed at establishing effective services for children and young people across Wales. [Go to note 123]. It is a guidance document, against which services are measured. A major element of this guidance is effective joint working across professions, as is promotion and prevention.
The strategy includes a four tier model of care, similar to that described in the English children’s NSF (read more here):
| Tier 1: | Primary or direct contact service |
| Tier 2: | Services provided by individual specialist CAMHS professionals |
| Tier 3: | Services provided by teams of staff from specialist CAMHS |
| Tier 4: | Very specialised interventions and care [Go to note 123] |
In September 2005, the Welsh Assembly published the 'National service framework for children, young people and maternity services in Wales'. [Go to note 124]. This outlines 21 standards which are in line with the principles embedded in Healthcare Standards for Wales, and also fit into other Assembly priorities, such as the '10-year strategy for health and social care; designed for life', and 'Making the connections: delivering better services for Wales'. The NSF is a 10-year programme with reviews every three years to ensure that the standards remain relevant. It has a chapter specifically on child and adolescent mental health, which covers areas including: access to services; the four tier service model; quality of services; and comprehensive and coordinated services.
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