Children and young people are being asked to share their experiences of a mental health crisis as part of a £1M study investigating how to improve emergency care.
The three-year study is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme. The aim is to improve emergency child and adolescent mental health services for young people aged between five and 18 years old.
Led by the Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, the study includes Professors Heather Brown and Fiona Lobban from the Faculty of Health and Medicine at Lancaster University.
Chief Investigator Dr Sarah Parry is Consultant Clinical Academic and Psychologist at the Young People's Mental Health Research Centre at the Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust.
She said: "Young people's voices are vital in shaping better mental health crisis care. We hope to hear from young people who have engaged with crisis services for their mental health and their parents or caregivers to learn more about how services can respond with greater compassion, understanding, and offer responsive support when it's needed most. Stories from experience can spark meaningful change, and we're committed to transforming our study's insights into impactful opportunities for the future."
In 2022, over half of parents said child and adolescent mental health services for emergency care were 'poor' or 'awful'. When families call an ambulance or crisis team, they can face long waiting times. Police often arrive quickly but they lack specialist mental health skills, and their attendance can also increase restrictive practises.
As part of the study, researchers would like to hear from young people and their families about their own experiences of receiving support.
Who can take part:-
• Young people aged between five and 18 who have experienced a mental health crisis and received support within the past two years.
• Parents or caregivers of young people who have experienced a mental health crisis.
• Health and social care professionals with experience of supporting young people experiencing a mental health crisis.
The study also includes a pilot of a new approach to responding to 999 calls which was successfully pioneered in 2022 by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Greater Manchester Police (GMP). This involved a joint emergency response to calls from both a police officer and a mental health practitioner attending a call together. This approach demonstrated better outcomes, so researchers plan to extend this to young people.
Professor Brown said: "Research shows young people are better supported when services work together. A joined-up approach to emergency care could help young people and their families. This means helping them feel heard, stay at home, avoid frightening hospital stays and traumatic admissions, and reduce the need for restrictive practices."
With funding from HSDR, researchers will also produce evidence on how well this new approach works for young people in crisis. They will explore how this joint response to young people in crisis could operate effectively within children's services, working closely with national policy advisors and decision makers to bring about long-term changes.
Professor Lobban said: "We will work with young people through creative workshops and theatre to refine our theories about how to deliver a joint response service well, and to effectively communicate our findings nationally. Overall, we will aim to provide key evidence as to whether a joined-up service is a better way to support young people in crisis, and evidence as to how it can work as well as possible, to provide a new framework for future planning for crisis care."
