Anyone who works with children and young people, or is a parent/carer in England, will be familiar with the challenges involved with accessing CAMHS. Like many places, Wirral has been grappling with the issue.
In 2023, Wirral Council and Merseyside ICB pooled budgets to commission an alliance to deliver on the deceptively simple aim of ensuring children and young people in Wirral know how and when to get support. Spoiler alert, it’s more complex than it sounds, but it’s worth it – on average it now takes 23 days for young people in Wirral to begin the support they need.
Our alliance created a digital platform Home | Branch Wirral where families explore self-help resources or look for further support. Branch’s ‘brain’ is an algorithm that asks young people questions related to ‘key pillars’ of their wellbeing, like sleep and eating.
After filling in the algorithm they can choose to match to a local service. If they don’t get a strong match, or need further help, they get a call from Branch’s beating ‘heart’, a team of brilliantly human people at the end of the phone.
Wirral’s voluntary sector is strong. It offers a range of support and upends the idea that clinically measurable outcomes can only be achieved in clinical settings, delivered by qualified NHS staff.
Open Door Charity achieves a 40% reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression, measured by GAD-7 and PHQ-9 clinical scales, working with young people in our colourful venue, that is equally known for gigs or parties.
Since launching in November 2024, 1000 young people have used Branch to get the right support for them, quicker and with kindness. The more we get this right, the better the access will be to all services, including CAMHS.
