New Mental Health Support Team looks set to be launched in Spalding

Spalding looks likely to have its own Mental Health Support Team from later this year due to a new funding partnership.

The teams are a new model to offer mental health support in schools and colleges.

“Half of all life-long mental health problems in the UK start before the age of 14 and three-quarters start before the age of 25.

“Today’s children and young people are considered to have worse mental health outcomes compared to previous generations, and in addition the COVID pandemic has had a significant detrimental impact on some children’s mental health,” says a report before Lincolnshire County Council’s Executive which meets on April 5.

The county is looking to establish a new partnership agreement which could see the new team in Spalding.

“Lincolnshire has often been ahead of other areas nationally in ensuring children and young persons’ mental health is prioritised,” says the report.

Spalding is in ‘Wave 7’ of the funding applications and will have a team created from September this year which should be fully embedded by September next year.

The county council does not have a statutory duty to commission the support teams, but it has taken on authority from the Care Commissioning Group.

All of Lincolnshire’s bids for four new support teams have been approved with funding for Spalding and then in the next wave, Grantham and Sleaford and the final wave is to be confirmed.

In total, the Spalding wave will cost £493,680 to the end of the 2023/4 financial year.

“Any funding for a further five years will be dependent on the outcome of the spending review,” the report says.

“Current commissioning arrangements for Lincolnshire’s Children and Young People’s mental health services are arguably over-complex and bureaucratic and can be restrictive,” it adds.

In-patient numbers in the category were ten in March 2020 and were still ten in January this year, ‘despite an increase in crisis.’

Each new mental health team must have four Education Mental Health Practitioners and deliver functions including intervention for children and young people with mild to moderate mental health problems.

The teams each cover a population of at least 7,000 young people.