Finn Madden, Transitions Team Lead, describes what the team does and how it is making a difference to young people and their families.
The Transitions team role is to help support young people and their families or carers through the inpatient admission process, to be involved with the discharge planning and offer our involvement when the young person is discharged from hospital. We are a special CAMHS-orientated team that can work with the young person and their family or carers whilst they are in hospital or in the community.
We pride ourselves on thinking differently about how to support our young people as we approach their wellbeing with not only their mental health in mind but also their physical needs, motivations, educational and/or social care needs, and goals for the future. We do this by focusing our approach on the 'social prescribing' model, which means we promote the need for them to access life through creative activities, connections to their communities, sports, education, employment and housing.
We believe that by supporting a young person to achieve in developing or becoming more confident in themselves, we can aid their interaction or engagement with other services and help them to work towards the goal of getting better and maintaining their overall health in the long term.
According to a study from NHS England in 2023:
An estimated one in five children and young people (aged 8 to 25 years old) have a probable mental health problem, but the specialist services designed to support them often have long waiting times and high thresholds for treatment.
Social prescribing is part of the solution. This might involve taking part in activities that benefit their health and wellbeing, or finding expert support with education, employment, housing or debt. Social prescribing is a way of tackling the problems affecting young people’s mental health head-on, addressing the root causes, and helping children and young people to live the best lives they can.
But don't just take our word for it, here's what a parent whose son was recently discharged from Serenity Path Hospital had say:
"On discharge, it’s scary as although my son had been at home for five days a week for a while, we knew we always had the backup of Serenity Path Hospital, and it also kept my son motivated to stay on track. Without the backup, you're alone, so it has been so comforting to have the Transitions Team there, especially since they were already so familiar and had a strong connection with my son. Having the weekly visits has helped my son and us so much and we are extremely grateful for everything they have done, and we will really miss them.
Throughout my son's journey there have been many people involved and at many points it’s felt overwhelming and sometimes hard to see how much value they were bringing. However, the Transition’s Team's value has always been clear, and they have delivered by helping my son transition back into the community."