CAMHS 3.5 services - supporting young people in the community
An outreach and intensive community services programme is having a significant impact supporting young people to get the mental health support they need at home and in the community.
The programme, known as CAMHS 3.5, has been successfully helping to reduce hospital admissions, referrals and the number of occupied beds for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) patients across the East Midlands.
Every integrated care system in the region now has a CAMHS 3.5 service, each developed through co-production with service-users, families and carers. The service started in April 2021 with funding from NHS England and was given its name because it sits between Tier 3 (specialist) and Tier 4 (inpatient care), with the aim of preventing the need for an admission or facilitating quicker discharge back to the community. Since its launch, there has been a steady and significant reduction in total admissions, which are forecast to be 50% lower this year than in 2021/22, when the services went live.
Providing rapid response, care and support
CAMHS 3.5 offers a range of services, including wrap-around and out-of-hours care, and rapid response for those at high risk of going into crisis (for example, young people with eating disorders or psychosis). Support is provided to young people, children, families and carers via text, phone call or video call to prevent admission to inpatient wards.
For those already admitted to inpatient beds, CAMHS 3.5 has enabled more children and young people to leave hospital quicker, as the service provides high-intensity care at home and in the community.
Against a backdrop of staffing challenges and increasing referrals to community teams, CAMHS 3.5 services have clearly demonstrated a positive impact. Approval is currently being sought for the service to be funded recurrently.
Simon Harris, Director of New Care Models for the East Midlands Collaborative for CAMHS, said: The CAMHS 3.5 services have been co-produced with partners from across the collaborative, resulting in significant success. Young people are now being cared for in their homes or within their communities, reflecting the effectiveness of this integrated approach.
Since its implementation across every integrated care system within the collaborative, the service has led to a remarkable reduction in referrals to Tier 4 beds and a nearly 50% reduction in admissions from the time of go-live. This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the community and inpatient teams within the collaborative.
The decline in CAMHS inpatient admissions from April 2019 to September 2024 demonstrates the impact of CAMHS 3.5 services
Total annual CAMHS inpatient admissions have fallen from around 330 in 2019/20 and 2020/21 to a forecast 122 in 2024/25