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People Participation at CAMHS
People Participation at CAMHS
Participation is about being involved and having a say. We want young people, families and carers to get the very best service. An important part of doing that is by listening and working with you to make sure we are offering things that you want or need. That’s why your voice is so important.
What can I do?
Join regular meetings in your local area
Each local CAMHS will have meetings where you can discuss everything that is happening in participation with other young people
Projects
Each local CAMHS will will have a variety of projects to improve the service. These can include re-designing leaflets, making videos, creating artwork, developing new resources, writing newsletters and much more
Sit on interview panels
You can train up and then sit alongside staff to recruit new workers into CAMHS
Giving feedback
We actively encourage feedback regarding our services, both positive and negative. This is so that we can constantly review and improve the support we give to young people
Does it make a difference?
YES! You will work with other service users and carers to make sure we hear your views and ideas and that you can hold us to account. You can help us choose and train the staff you want to see working in our services, and share ideas on how we can further improve the work we do.
"My views and opinions were taken into consideration and for that, I am grateful" W, age 15
What about Parents & Carers?
We value the feedback and support of parents and carers to help improve our services. Just as with young people, we have several ways that parents can get involved in shaping the work we do. Why not join our parent forums, help us to recruit new staff or get involved with Quality Improvement or Quality Assurance?
How do we get involved?
For more information contact the People Participation Lead for your local service by following the links above
What do CAMHS users say about Participation?
"I regularly go to group meetings at CAMHS with other service users. We talk about issues around mental health and discuss service development. We give feedback on a variety of things from care plans, the appearance of the waiting room and how it can be improved and what the new CAMHS website should look like. This has given me the confidence to talk to other young people and share my opinion and also to listen and value their opinions even when they are different to mine."
"Helping out with interviews has given me confidence and a really good insight into the interview process and how decisions are made about who is the most suitable person for the job. This is an opportunity I would never normally have had and has taught me how I should behave and represent myself now that I am looking for a job."
"The thing I enjoy most is being involved in interviews for staff recruitment. I started this in September and so far have helped make a decision about CAMHS employing more than 6 staff. I have sat on the panel with various members of staff for all sorts of different roles and they have all made me feel really welcome and have included me fully in the whole interview process. My opinions as a young person have always been respected and taken into consideration when they decide who gets the job."