Evidence and practice

Young people’s views on specialist mental healthcare and remote delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic

Philip John Archard Mental health practitioner, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester, England

Leanne Kulik Peer support worker, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester, England

Siobhan Fitzpatrick Trainee clinical psychologist, University College London, London, England

Sewanu Awhangansi Speciality registrar, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester, England

Isobel Moore Clinical psychologist, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester, England

Emma Giles Assistant psychologist, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester, England

Nicolle Morris Clinical psychologist, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester, England

Michelle O’Reilly Associate professor of communication in mental health, University of Leicester, Leicester, England and research consultant, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester, England

Why you should read this article:

• To be aware of young people’s experiences of remotely delivered mental healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic
• To understand it is crucial to use the perspectives of young people to inform policy and practice in child and adolescent mental health
• To recognise that service evaluations can identify important translatable messages about service priorities in real time and deliver tangible service outcomes

This article reports findings from a service evaluation involving interviews with 16 young people under the care of a single specialist child and adolescent mental health service team. The team serves various ‘vulnerable’ population groups, including children and young people living in residential and foster care, those who are adopted and those who are involved with youth justice services. The evaluation was concerned with how the shift from face-to-face to remote methods of care delivery and new ways of working during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has been experienced by service users. The young people’s accounts highlight how differences in provision were mostly anticipated, which interlinked with a high level of satisfaction with the service overall. Therapeutic relationships with clinicians also appeared to hold a renewed significance when care was delivered remotely or through a combination of remote and face-to-face delivery. The article concludes by considering the implications of the findings for practice and care pathway planning and commenting on the value of service evaluations for illuminating issues that transcend local care.

Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2022.e1596

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

philip.archard@nhs.net

Conflict of interest

None declared

Archard PJ, Kulik L, Fitzpatrick S et al (2022) Young people’s views on specialist mental healthcare and remote delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2022.e1596

Published online: 05 April 2022

Keywords :

adolescents - child and adolescent mental health - child health - communication - coronavirus - COVID-19 - patient experience - patient satisfaction - patients - professional - telehealth

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07 March 2024 / Vol 27 issue 2

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