Trust praised at awards ceremony for improving services

Staff at a local NHS Trust have been recognised for their work to redevelop their service, resulting in improved quality of care for patients, reduced waiting times and increased patient satisfaction.

The forensic child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS), which is run by South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist service in Wakefield for children and young people who are in touch with the criminal justice system.

The service was highly commended by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) at the annual HSJ awards, following their nomination for the Specialised Services Redesign category. The HSJ awards are the largest celebration of healthcare excellence in the UK, highlighting the most innovative and successful people and projects in the sector.

The Forensic CAMHS team were shortlisted for their work to redevelop the service and create a new referral route. Since introducing the new route, the team has seen strong results including an increase in the number of people they have been able to support, and 100% positive feedback from children and young people, carers, professionals and commissioners when they were asked if they were satisfied with the outcome of their case.

The success follows two awards wins earlier this month – Mental Health Social Worker of the Year award at the Social Worker of the Year awards, and Outstanding Collaborative Leadership of the Year award at the Regional Leadership Recognition awards.

Nette Carder, interim district director for CAMHS and Forensic services at the Trust, said: “We are delighted at the recognition the service has received over the past month. It is a great achievement that we have been highly commended by the HSJ for the work we have done to develop Forensic CAMHS. Our staff have shown continued commitment to embracing new working practices, enabling us to improve the service and better meet the needs of children, young people and their families.”