Twenty-six organisations to get cash boost for mental health projects

The successful organisations who will receive funding to support projects that will help improve the lives of children and young people affected by mental illness have been announced by Health Education England (HEE) today.

A total of 26 organisations will benefit from funding from a £3m pot that HEE secured to  support workforce transformation, development and training that is intended to improve the mental health outcomes for children and young people with extra vulnerabilities.  The fund is intended to encourage and support initiatives that will contribute to workforce development through education and training with clear alignment with Local Transformation Plans (LTPs)

HEE received bids from a wide range of organisations including 26 NHS trusts, clinical commissioning groups, charities and local authorities.

Successful bidders include:

• The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust in Reading which supports young people with depression and their families. The award of £175,545 will help the charity to grow its pastoral service to local schools, and provide the right skills staff to provide effective early intervention and support for young people with mental health issues.
• The Hearing Services department of Sheffield Children’s Hospital will use £12,353 to transform early intervention for mental health and wellbeing for children and young people with audiological difficulties, such as hearing loss and tinnitus.
• NHS East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group will use their award of £5,135 to create a Learning Disability Health Passport and ‘About Me’ cards for children and young people.

Bidders were invited to tender for the delivery of this Children and Young People workforce transformation programme. It was a competitive process, 73 bids were evaluated from a wide range of organisations.

Professor Lisa Bayliss-Pratt, Director of Nursing and Deputy Director of Education and Quality said:

We know that a workforce with the right skills and values is vital if we are to protect the most vulnerable in society. By funding workforce education and training this initiative will help organisations develop their teams to meet local demand and ensure that vulnerable children and young people receive the mental health support that they need.