News & Updates
Our Coborn QI Wall!
17 April 2019
In April 2019 we were proud to complete the artwork for the Quality Improvement visibility wall at the Coborn Centre for Adolescent Mental Health in Newham. Building on the experiences from previous QI wall projects at Robert Dolan House and Newham Centre for Mental Health, this work was a collaboration between young people at the… Read More

CAMHS Access and Flow series
8 March 2019
Here you can access seven stories about improving access and flow in our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Click on the icons to view.

Improving access and flow in the Tower Hamlets Neurodevelopmental CAMHS pathway
4 March 2019
In our last story of the Improving access and flow within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services series, discover how the Neurodevelopmental team (NDT) in Tower Hamlets CAMHS managed to reduce the percentage of missed appointments by 55% while also making changes to the team structure. Here’s the story: CAMHS Access and Flow series… Read More

Improving access and flow: Luton CAMHS story
26 February 2019
In our fifth story of the Improving access and flow within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services series, discover how the Luton CAMHS team found new ways to review referrals and achieved a 19% reduction from referral to second appointment. Luton and Bedford CAMHS also offered QI training to service users and now have a group of young people ready… Read More

City & Hackney CAMHS: Access and Flow project
19 February 2019
Here’s the fourth story of the Improving access and flow within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services series. In the newsletter below, find out how the City & Hackney team changed the way they operate to improve the experience of young people in the crisis pathway. Click to read: CAMHS Access and Flow series… Read More

Newham Child and Family Consultation Service in: The Busy Bees
12 February 2019
Here’s the third story of the Improving access and flow within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services series. The Newham Emotional & Behavioural Team share their journey of reducing cancellation rates and other improvements as part of their QI project. The team also recently threw open their doors for a week-long CAMHS festival, reaching out into their community,… Read More

‘Mission Improvable’: an entirely factual and anonymous blog
6 February 2019
Here’s an honest and humorous account of the highs and lows of a QI project journey in the Tower Hamlets CAMHS triage pathway. This is the second story of the Improving access and flow within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services series. Click below to read: CAMHS Access and Flow series – access all… Read More

Improving access and flow within CAMHS: the ADHD service story
28 January 2019
This is the first story of a series dedicated to improvement work in ELFT’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). Each week you will be able to learn more about a different QI project through their learning and achievements. Here’s the first one… City & Hackney CAMHS reduced the waiting time from referral to assessment… Read More

Improving access and flow within Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services
28 January 2019
Graeme Lamb, Clinical Director for Children’s services, and Jamie Stafford, Improvement Advisor, reflect on the journey of teams who took part in a learning system to improve access and flow within the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services directorate. Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing some of these teams’ stories. Since June 2017,… Read More

Giving young people a voice: QI training for service users and carers
21 November 2018
As part of our efforts to take people participation in Quality Improvement (QI) to the next level, the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in Bedfordshire and Luton offered two workshop sessions for young people and carers who wanted to work alongside staff to identify and improve quality issues within healthcare. Find out more… Read More

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services learning set using Skype for Business
22 January 2018
The communication platform allowed teams working in various locations to connect and share their experiences. Words by James Stafford (QI Darzi Fellow) and Marco Aurelio (Improvement Advisor) The number of referrals to community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) continues to rise nationwide, posing challenges to teams across the country. Over the past six… Read More

Improving confidence in Managing Self-harm at the Coborn: A QI project supporting young people, their families and staff
20 July 2017
By Louisa Bravery, Consultant Psychologist at the Coborn Centre for Adolescent Mental Health Introduction There has been an increase in the number of young people presenting with self-harm difficulties, with a rise in those requiring hospital treatment (NHS Digital cited in The Guardian, 2016). There is also an increasing awareness of the use of social media… Read More

Improving Access in Children’s Services
11 July 2017
The Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Service The Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Service started their QI project in December 2015. The service dedicates time every Friday afternoon to focus on quality improvement and this time has involved teaching sessions on the methodology, presentations and project team meetings. All members of the service are part of the… Read More

Improving interventions for parents of children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in CAMHS
30 June 2017
Laura Roughan, Psychologist, in our City and Hackney Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service, writes about her team’s QI project aimed at Improving interventions for parents of children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in CAMHS Background In 2015, City and Hackney Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) devised a pathway model for… Read More

ELFT CAMHS Services Quality Conference
30 June 2017
On Wednesday 28th June 150 colleagues from across the Trust’s CAMHS services came together to dedicate time to further develop their understanding around capacity and demand issues. Identified as a priority area for the directorate, the aim of the day was to take a deep dive into understanding flow through the services, identify what works… Read More
