Minority voices: Research into the access and acceptability of ... - MMC

• Exploring avenues for empowering parents and communities to understand mentalhealth.Staff suggested that inter-agency working could be improved by:• More robust multi-agency work at Tier 1 since this tier influences access to appropriateservices.• Development of formal arrangements for joint working, including more joint trainingand the scheduling of regular case discussions for staff from the different agenciesinvolved.• Developing relationships and information sharing between statutory and voluntarysector agencies, including the involvement of both in wider policy, planning andcommissioning of services.• Ensuring referral criteria/pathways are clear - with non-health professionals andvoluntary sector agencies able to make direct referrals to CAMHS.• All agencies being culturally competent - otherwise referral on from one agency toanother can be difficult (or may not happen due to staff perceptions that the service isnot appropriate for young people from Black and minority ethnic communities).! Information sharing, monitoring and service promotion and targetingStaff suggested the use of a wider range of places for disseminating information materials,both in English and other languages, and by both written and verbal means. Routes for thisincluded:• Outreach work in a variety of settings including the town centre and using voluntarysector networks.• Work in schools including drop-in sessions and peer support training.• ‘Non-traditional’ routes such as the internet, email, local radio stations, venues used bylocal community and faith groups and posters/leaflets in local music and sports venues.“Literature needs to be accessible as well as available. For example, where one or bothparents don’t read English or are not literate, then available literature will not be of any use.”(CAMHS respondent)In terms of promoting services more effectively staff suggested the following would be helpful:• More awareness raising of mental health issues (as a precursor to promoting actualservices).• Promotion through frontline professionals.• The use of audio visual materials for those unable to read.• Changing referral structures to allow self-referrals and increasing service capacity sothat new referrals can be seen more quickly.• Information for parents, wider family and at the community level.• The holding of ‘open days’, possibly linked into local community initiatives.“There is a need to look at ways of promoting the service to older people such as parents andgrandparents. Young people sometimes don’t want parents to know that they are accessingsupport from the service and it is not always possible to accommodate this. So it is importantto work with parents in order to support access by young people.” (CAMHS respondent)The limitations in current monitoring data suggest that much that is collected is often not usedin a meaningful way that is useful to practitioners. Staff therefore suggested the following:Minority Voices Research Report39