New all-age eating disorders service and an innovative children and young people’s mental health service

NELFT impressed us by their commitment to quality and innovation, coming top on both bids for quality and value for money.

As a result of this, from 1 September 2017, children, young people and adults with eating disorders in Kent and Medway will receive:

• earlier support, with specialist assistance available when the first signs of illness are showing, rather than waiting until their BMI drops below 17, as now
• continuity of care for those who need it, with no change of service when they turn 18.

There will be one phone number for the eating disorders service in Kent and Medway for people who think they may have an eating disorder, and their families. GPs wanting advice or to make a referral, and other professionals, such as teachers and youth workers, will use the number too.

Children and young people in Kent (under 18) with emotional or mental health needs will get:

• one number and website to use for all types of emotional and mental health support (whether they just need to talk to someone or having symptoms such as hearing voices or seeing hallucinations)
• support such as advice, guidance or a referral to a service, via the same phone number or website no matter who calls - whether children and young people themselves, GPs, parents, relatives, friends, school staff or other health professionals
• better urgent and emergency care, minimising the need for children or young people in distress to spend time in A&E
• the opportunity to access support digitally in a way that best suits them.

This completely joined up approach has been made possible by Kent clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and Kent County Council (KCC) working together to develop a vision for improved emotional, wellbeing and mental health services for Kent children and young people, and put in place the services needed to deliver it. These are:

• a school public health service to support the physical and mental health of children and young people, alongside a targeted emotional health service for children and young people experiencing problems such as bereavement, relationships or anxiety. Both of these were commissioned by Kent County Council from Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust and started in April 2017
• the new children and young people’s mental health service planned and paid for by the CCGs with additional funding from KCC which launches on 1 September 2017.

The contract for children and young people’s mental health services in Medway has also been awarded to NELFT.

This means that from 1 September 2017, people of any age with an eating disorder, and children and young people in both Kent and Medway who need specialist mental healthcare will all get their services from the same organisation.

Currently, different trusts provide different aspects of the service, and there is no separate specialist service for people with eating disorders: it is part of wider mental health services.

We believe the new services, which are really clear about what our children, young people, and people with eating disorders in Kent can expect, will make a real difference, improving care and people’s chances of making a full recovery. We think that in the medium term they will also reduce the number of people who need long-term support, reducing waiting lists and improving patient experience.

We are grateful to all those, including GPs, children, young people, families, and those with experience of eating disorders who helped us draw up the specifications for these two important new services and who were involved in the complex process of letting the contracts. We would also like to acknowledge the hard work, skills and expertise of all staff currently involved in delivering these services.

Dr David Grice
Clinical lead for children and young people’s mental health services in east Kent

Dr David Chesover
Clinical lead for mental health services in west Kent

Dr Sarah MacDermott
Clinical lead for mental health for NHS Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley CCG

Sent on behalf of:

• NHS Ashford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)
• NHS Canterbury and Coastal CCG
• NHS Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley CCG
• NHS South Kent Coast CCG
• NHS Swale CCG
• NHS Thanet CCG
• NHS West Kent CCG

Note: NELFT stands for North East London NHS Foundation Trust, because historically the services it provided were based in north east London. However, that is no longer the case. All the Kent and Medway services provided by NELFT will be based in Kent and Medway.