Mental Health Support Teams in West Essex

The publication of Transforming Children and Young People's Mental Health provision green paper in December 2017 announced the establishment of Mental Health Support Teams who will work with schools to strengthen support for CYP with mental health issues. The local MHST's will address the needs of children and young people by: - Delivering evidence-based interventions in or close to schools and colleges for those with mild to moderate mental health issues. - Helping children and young people with more severe needs to access the right support. - Working with and within schools and colleges, providing a link to specialist NHS services. - Building on and increasing support already in place, rather than replacing it. The roll out is in line the NHS Long Term Plan that builds on the Five Year Forward View with a 10-year commitment to improve mental health services in adults and children in England. Mind in West Essex have been awarded a contract to support the West Essex footprint. Mind in West Essex are a key provider of community based mental health services across West Essex. They work with children and young people in order to foster a positive attitude to mental health early in life. West Essex Mind will work with secondary schools to deliver the service having already in place strong relationships with the Essex early intervention / specialist Children's and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Provider - North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) to ensure the greatest success and impact for our children and young people. This is a 2-year contract which began on 1st April 2022 and will expire on 31st March 2024. Ahead of contract expiry, the Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care System will review the services in place and make a further decision on the collaborative commissioning and procurement arrangements for the HWE ICS beyond 1st April 2024.