Project Description

In the UK today, one in four adults is living with a mental health problem, most commonly anxiety or depression. Many of these adults are also parents whose children are living at home; in fact, mental health problems are more common in adults who have dependent children than those who do not, with lone parents being three times more likely than other parents to experience mental distress.

The emotional well-being of parents can have a significant impact on children. In some families, parental distress can lead to children taking on responsibilities that would usually belong to adult family members: in essence they become young carers.

For the past 15 years, organisations across Liverpool including Barnardo’s, Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP)the Local Authority and Mersey Care NHS Trust have worked in partnership to address the issues faced by young carers, through a variety of projects and schemes. In 1999 the ‘Keeping the Family in Mind’ programme commenced and has been consistently listening to children and young people in the delivery and development of mental health services.

The work of the Bernardo’s Action with Young Carers group has continued to inform the way forward for some of those key developments including:

• Sixteen award winning ‘Family Rooms’ (now considered national best practice) in all in-patient areas across Mersey Care Trust. This allow parents who are in hospital to spend time with their children in an environment that is conducive to the needs of children and young people, as told by children and young people
• Resource packs for young carers which simplify and explain to young people about parental mental ill-health
• Family Support workers in Community Mental Health Teams providing expertise and support for both professionals and families
• ‘Message in a Bottle’ for service users which informs key professionals about personal preferences and important information if they become unwell.

JMB Health Consultancy were honoured to be commissioned to provide a progress report capturing the detailed work and commitment by organisations such as Mersey Care NHS Trust across Merseyside in listening to the voice of children and young people who are carers for their family member, with Bernardo’s acting as a vital ‘critical friend’ at all stages of the journey.

The key challenge was not in quantifying or describing the detail, but being able to portray and contextualise the commitment, dedication and genuine passion of all those involved across Liverpool to deliver services for children and young carers in mental health. What was explicitly evident however was that their message is quite clear; “Think Child, Think Parent, Think Family”.
If you would like more information on this work, please contact us or Mersey care NHS Trust.