Children and young people - community mental health and wellbeing: supports and services framework

Risk

61. There is degree of risk involved in the provision of community-based mental health support, including for example:

• Managing crisis or suicidal ideation. While community-based supports and services are aimed at promoting positive mental health and wellbeing and supporting those in emotional distress, children, young people and their families will sometimes present at these services in need of urgent care, or their needs may change over the course of accessing support.
• Managing adult or child protection concerns.
• Ensuring supports and services, including digital resources, are of sufficient quality to meet needs and have effective escalation routes.

62. The management of risk should be considered in relation to both face-to-face and digital services, and should include each local partnership collaborating on how risk will be managed and monitored across the range of local supports and services.

63. Important risk mitigations include:

• Ensuring clear, agreed escalation routes to CAMHS and adult mental health services. Usually, this will be how to seek advice from a clinician where a child or young person is not getting better or is raising concern. It should also include how to support children, young people and their families to access urgent assessment both in-hours and out-of-hours from other professionals including GPs, mental health specialists, nurses and social work if required.
• Clear escalation routes to adult and child protection processes.
• Appropriate professional oversight and necessary safeguards, which includes all staff being aware of the need to assess risk and of their own capacity to do so at a local level.
• Appropriate staff training and support.
• In relation to digital services, an up-to-date knowledge of the latest online threats and harmful trends, and an understanding of the impact technology can have on children and young people’s health and relationships.