Promoting the Emotional Wellbeing of Young People Leaving Care Part 1/3

Welcome and Opening Remarks Councillor Matt Golby Lead Member for Children’s Services and Education, Northamptonshire County Council

Sean Duggan, Chief Executive Mental Health Network

Personal Story

Conclusion All of the evidence reviewed for this report points to the importance of supporting families and schools to build firm foundations for children’s mental health, and of offering effective help for any age at the first signs of difficulty.

They illustrate the importance of raising awareness and mental health literacy among families, schools and young people themselves. And they highlight the importance of making effective help more accessible, more proactive, and more responsive.

Thank you Sean.Duggan@nhsconfed.org

Named Nurse for Looked After Children Richard Lindsley Named Nurse for Looked After Children

It’s strange being back at St.Andrew’s… Mum Dad Pap

We take our family networks for granted… Where does a care leaver go? What do they need? How does this impact on their emotional well being and mental health?

Care Leavers Association Survey 418 response care leavers (all ages) Female 67.5% Male 32.5% LGB&T 14.4% (general pop 7%) Ages Under 16 0.2% (1) 16 – 24 33.9% (139), 24 – 40 17.3% (71), 41-60 34.6% (142) 61-70 7.6% (31) 70+ 6.3% (26)

Key Findings 87.1% of people experienced feelings of low self esteem (some, often, all the time) 79.6% of people experienced feelings of anxiety (some, often, all the time) 76.5% of people experienced feeling depressed (some, often, all the time) 78.5% of people experienced feelings of isolation (some, often, all the time)

I have experienced low self-esteem

I have self-harmed (symptoms could include cutting or otherwise physically hurting myself deliberately

I have experienced feeling depressed

I have regularly taken alcohol to excess (such as binge drinking, or consuming more than the recommend weekly amounts of 14 units for women or 21 units for men

I have used prescribed and/or non-prescribed drugs recreationally

Do you believe that these mental health experiences are a result of your care experience?

How do these figures compare to our Northamptonshire statistics? We have no idea! Electronic recording systems currently not set up to measure care leavers We’d like to know: Attendance at A&E Self harm Mental health service use: GP, Wellbeing teams, CMHT We’re working on that! Care Leavers Association had some success with prison service

What have we done? Health Passports In 2014/15 over 400 Health Passports were provided to care leavers We need to make these a valued document So how can you help? Make sure the basics are in place…GP first Be available (car crash) Build resilience Promote engagement (resources are available)

What else is going on? Care leavers are high on the health agenda Health Commissioners and Providers are meeting to look at services and identify unmet needs Innovative practise being considered such as peer led services ENGAGEMENT

Let’s think about Care Leavers Missed experiences… Developmental gaps Think about history Life skills Valuing themselves Having trusted adults Being kept informed

Filling in the gaps exercise A member of the LAC mental Health Team will assist each table Think about the young people in general and what they need for healthy development On your tables, using the paper provided, spend five minutes to write one word or a short phrase related to these factors: Physical/Material Social Emotional

Now we’ve identified the needs… Let’s start thinking about the things your young people may have missed out on If you think they had something but it was poor: rip that brick in half If you think something was absent: Take that brick away!

Contacting the Integrated Looked After Children’s Health Service Team contact number: 01604 657728 Team secure email: Nptonlac@nhs.net Referrals made via The Referral Management Centre: Castle Unit  Isebrook Hospital Irthlingborough Road Wellingborough NN8 1LP Phone 0300 1111 022 http://www.nht.nhs.uk/main.cfm?type=REFERRALMANAGEMENT Key contacts: Dr Anwen Goodwin, Principal Psychologist & Clinical Lead Anwen.Goodwin@nhft.nhs.uk Richard Lindsley, Named Nurse for LAC & Team Lead Richard.Lindsley@nhft.nhs.uk

How to access mental health services for over 18s GP Wellbeing Team / Counselling via GP Lowdown, Service 6, or other local counselling services Ask Normen http://www.asknormen.co.uk/ Young Northants http://www3.northamptonshire.gov.uk/councilservices/children-families-education/young-northants/health/Pages/default.aspx MIND Young Minds http://www.youngminds.org.uk/