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Child
and Adolescent Mental Health Services Programme
The HQS
quality accreditation programme for child and adolescent
mental health services (CAMHS) is based on work developed
by the National Children's Bureau. The programme links
into the established HQS accreditation programmes for NHS
trust services.
The programme
provides the opportunity for CAMHS to assess their services
against a set of national standards for good practice
and management for CAMHS, which are based on, and driven by,
the needs of children and their families. A key component
of the programme is external peer review by teams of
experienced professionals who themselves work in CAMHS.
The standards
are grouped under the following headings:
- Child-centred
philosophy of care
- Confidentiality
- Consent
to treatment
- Involvement
of children, young people and carers in individual assessment
and care
- Child
protection
- Equal
opportunities
- Environment
- Strategic
planning and development
- Management
and staffing of specialist CAMHS
- Education
and staff development in specialist CAMHS
- Preventive
strategies and services
- Representation
and complaints
- Performance
and quality monitoring
Click
here to download example standard in pdf format, relating
to "Assessment, treatment and care, discharge"
Programme
principles
The HQS programme is based on the concept that the quality
of care which children, young people and their families receive
can be consistently enhanced if the underlying systems of
the service and processes for care are thought through, monitored
and continuously reviewed. When things go wrong in health
care, investigations demonstrate that in the vast majority
of cases it is the underlying systems which are at fault,
not incompetent staff.
Benefits
of participation
The aim of the programme is for as many staff as possible
to get involved in working with the standards, using them
as a tool to review working practices and then, in response,
improve aspects of service provision. Completing the assessment
against the standards helps staff across all professions to
understand how the service works and can also be used as an
induction and training exercise, enabling people to complete
their own responses as they learn about the organisation.
Having
to meet a deadline fosters teamwork and ensures that important
work relating to the underlying system of care is completed,
rather than being deferred in response to pressing day-to-day
demands. Receiving an external survey heightens people's awareness
of quality in their work and increases their commitment to
this goal.
Here are some examples of benefits of the programme as reported
by participating organisations:
"It's
helped us to understand how our organisation works"
"We
were able to see where new work practices were in place
and where others needed more time and effort to implement
change"
"I have complete confidence that the policy and procedures
manual is up-to-date and covers all key issues"
"The
external survey gave a real-time deadline for completing
on initiatives that had been plodding along"
"Communication
across the service and with linked services has improved
dramatically."
The
assessment framework
The assessment framework takes the service through stages
of self-assessment within teams and departments, action
planning for service improvement, internal review
across departments, followed by further development.
The appointment of a project manager within the service to
lead the process and an active steering group are central
to gaining maximum benefit from participation in the programme.
HQS arranges
an external peer review carried out by experienced professionals
from the CAMHS sector. All assessors are selected and trained
by the Health Quality Service. The external peer review team
will carry out a review of documentation, service area visits
and interviews with staff about their work, in relation to
the standards framework. The team will then compile a report
outlining the results of the review against the standards.
The service can then pursue accreditation.
HQS
support
HQS will support and guide the service through the programme
through centrally co-ordinated training days, attended by
the person leading the programme within the service. The events
cover essential information and techniques for the key stages
of the process, for example, project planning and survey preparation.
This enables project managers to network; supporting and sharing
experiences with other project managers participating in the
programme.
Timing
of the programme
HQS recommends that the service allows between six months
to a year for the initial phase of working with the standards
and preparing for the external survey. Most organisations
continue to work on the action points arising from the external
survey in order to continue the development and improvement
of services and work towards accreditation.
Cost
of participation
The fees for participation in the programme vary according
to a number of factors; most significant is the extent of
service provision, the number of staff and their management
groupings within the service. Although there is no such thing
as 'the typical service', as a guideline, the cost of participation
in the programme for a service of average size would be around
£6,000, to include standards framework, programme guidance
book, attendance at networking/training days, external peer
review and report.
For
further information contact:
Andrew
Thomas
Email: athomas@chks.co.uk
Tel:
020 7389 1009 (direct line)
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