Evolving CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)
What were we trying to do?
We knew from a number of studies that the COVID-19 pandemic caused huge challenges for healthcare staff. These studies mainly focused on the impact of the pandemic on health and social care staff working within physical health services.
There were no studies that we knew of exploring the experiences of staff working within Tier 3 and Tier 4 CAMHS. We wanted to understand the experiences of staff providing care to young people and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore the factors which may have worsened or improved their working experiences.
Why was it important?
This research enabled us to understand what support would be useful in supporting staff working in Tier 3 and Tier 4 CAMHS provision during the COVID-19 pandemic. This knowledge was used to inform recommendations for specific interventions to support staff locally and more widely, and at other times of unprecedented stress. Additionally, there were benefits for young people accessing these services and their families by ensuring better health outcomes and positive patient experience.
How did we do it?
Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with healthcare staff across Tier 3 and Tier 4 CAMHS services in Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH NHS FT).
Purposeful sampling was used to recruit staff members who had been involved in providing healthcare during the COVID 19 pandemic. We used a maximum variance sample on key variables (professional group, gender, ethnicity) until saturation was achieved. The interviews explored experiences of providing healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, barriers to providing this care and ideas for managing challenges.
Who did we work with?
More information
Programme Manager
Gill Rizzello
gill.rizzello@manchester.ac.uk