Lab Leads present at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust showcase

Earlier this month, our Academic Lead Dr. Alice Wickersham and Lab co-Lead Craig Colling presented at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) CAMHS project showcase. First, Craig outlined how myHealthE has transformed routine outcome measurement across SLaM CAMHS, increasing the availability of data to inform clinical decision-making and supporting research projects as a recruitment tool. Then, Alice addressed how our data linkage between health and education data informs our understanding of relationships between mental health and school outcomes, feeding into service and policy decisions for schools and healthcare services alike.

It was a pleasure to hear from a variety of other projects underway across SLaM, from co-creating online parent resources to improving clinical pathways for children with ADHD, and much more besides. We were particularly delighted to hear from a young expert by experience who has helped lead the development of a new CAMHS Crisis Recovery House, as well as three parents from the SLaM CAMHS parent and carer advisory group who spoke about their work supporting and evaluating CAMHS research.

It was a rare opportunity to bring clinical, research, and managerial staff together to learn about and reflect on the present and future of our collaborations as part of the King’s Maudsley Partnership. At the end of the session, group discussions identified key priorities for the CAMHS directorate in the coming years, for example supporting children who have trouble attending school, engaging minoritised communities, and supporting clinical staff to be involved in research. With the new Pears Maudsley building to be opened next year, it’s an exciting time to be involved in children and young people’s mental health research. Thank you to SLaM for an engaging event!