We know from our listening that an important focus area for south Londoners was children and young people’s mental health. Many parents wanted mental health support for them and their children but did not know where to access it. Specifically, communities asked NHS trusts and local authorities to improve the experience for young people on the waiting list for mental health services by creating a virtual waiting room.

We brought together mental health trusts with local partners, including schools and teachers, to explore how to implement the community ask of a ‘virtual waiting room’ to improve the ways young people are communicated with and supported whilst they are on the CAMHS waiting list. We created a set of requirements and explored how existing initiatives across the Trusts are working to meet them.

In 2023, we were delighted to be able to launch a CAMHS virtual waiting room called myHealthe. Developed in partnership with the CAMHS Digital Lab at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience it has been rolled out across Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark.

Over 7,500 families now have access to this service through myHealthE, which includes new video content and resources curated by CAMHS clinicians to provide information whilst on the wait list and signposting to additional services, for example Kooth. Work continues to take place to support engagement with schools and community leaders to promote the resource – and support the development of a version for older children.

On 11 May, we held a community-led celebration at St Jonh’s Angell Town, marking the important milestone for this priority area. Parents, teachers, and young people, who begun the journey from early stages of listening, had the opportunity to see how the NHS has turned their listening in action.  Achieved through the brilliant work of CAMHS Digital Lab’s team.

CAMHS Virtual Waiting Room

Visible Waiting Times

All three mental health trusts committed to publishing their CAMHS waiting times, so everyone, especially parents and young people, can access them and make more informed decisions about the support they need. In October 2022, we celebrated the progress South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust made in having their waiting times visible, and Oxleas followed suit. Work is still ongoing at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to publish their CAMHS waiting times, but they reaffirmed their commitment to do so at the South East London Community Health Assembly in November 2023.