My Placement In A CAMHS Community Team

Marzena talks candidly about her placement in CAMHS, how vital this under-funded service became during lockdown and how her experience compelled her to take on a role as a CAMHS Practitioner

Why I Chose CAMHS?

These are my reflections after a couple of months working in CAMHS community as a newly qualified Nurse.

I was always told that newly qualified Nurses should work in the general ward for at least 2 years post-qualified.

However, since I started my training I always had in my mind that I would like to work with children and adolescents one day.

I knew that there are not many jobs available as a CAMHS practitioner as I did some research.

Moreover, I was informed that CAMHS is more like ‘a specialty’, therefore, again, experience in the general psychiatric ward is necessary.

I was offered a management placement in CAMHS community.

I felt very lucky because not many students get placement with this service - it was even harder during lockdown as many services reduced their ability to accept students.

Moreover, I was not convinced that management placement in the community would be the most beneficial choice for my development as a future Nurse.

At first, I found it difficult that I had to organise my day in practice - book appointments with patients; deal with stressed parents who did not have any face-to-face time with practitioners for a long time, and exhausted young people who were trying to talk to anyone and get help as soon as possible.

The Importance Of Self-Belief

One of the most challenging parts of this job was dealing with my confidence and self-esteem - I could see that not believing in myself affected my patients and their ability to trust me as a clinician.

I noticed that admitting in front of patients that we do not know something does not make us foolish, but brave and many appreciate our transparency.

Despite my knowledge and experience, I struggled to believe that I am good enough to work with children, young people, and their families.

I had ongoing fear that I am going to hurt someone - at the moment I believe that I would like to be present for children to support them with their difficulties and carefully assess their risk.

The Importance Of A Supportive Mentor

My mentor was extremely supportive and day after day I could feel more confident.

At this point, I would like to highlight how important it is to have supportive mentors around student Nurses during their placements.

Student Nurses not only have to deal with the trauma of their patients but also their issues from the past which might affect their practice.

I wish every student Nurse a supportive mentor who will look after them during their placement, whereas qualified Nurses would benefit from protective teaching time for students.

An Underfunded Service

The reality of CAMHS service can be heart-breaking - many of the departments are underfunded for years which has caused a massive backlog and frustration.

As a student, I could feel intensified feelings of families who need help as soon as possible.

Lockdown strengthen my feelings that I would like to support children and young people as I felt they already missed so much due to ongoing fear and restrictions.

When I found out that CAMHS in my area would need new practitioners, I decided that I would like to try to apply for the job.

I was over the moon when I was informed I got the job, but also fearful if I can manage it as a newly quailed Nurse.

Please be mindful that I worked 2 years in the acute mental health unit as a Healthcare Assistant and had around 9 months of placement there - including one when I worked as a Clinical Support Worker during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Therefore, I felt quite confident and felt that I already had plenty of skills required for a newly qualified Mental Health Practitioner.

I also worked as an Assistant Support Worker for 3 years, so altogether I had 5 years of experience in the healthcare sector.

Of course, it is not the same as being a student and a Nurse, however, I always tried to be professional and responsible when I worked on any unit during my placements.

Improvements Need To Be Made

After a couple of months, I can certainly say that the service needs to change.

At first, the government should consider funding CAMHS as a priority for mental health wellbeing.

If we focus on the prevention of mental health conditions, it should have a significant impact on well-being in adulthood.

However, money cannot resolve everything and at this point, it is necessary to acknowledge more staff are needed to reduce the waiting time to be seen by the specialist team.

I never had a plan to work in the community at all, but sometimes we need to try things that in our mind seem to be not beneficial for us.

I was hoping to find a job in the inpatient unit (CAMHS), however, at that time there was no post available.

I am glad that I take a chance and accepted this challenge.

Working in the community means that I am required to take many decisions on my own, however, I can always rely on more experienced colleagues who are supportive and try to find some time to guide me.

I am proud to work with children, young people, and their families.

However, I am not proud of the quality of the treatment which the NHS offers at the moment.

Due to ongoing cuts in funding, staff shortages and political changes the service has been impacted and the quality of care has been declining.

I have found extremely frustrating the postcode lottery-which means that care across the UK depends on the postcode where people live.

I feel that explaining difficulties with funding should not be part of my job - as healthcare professionals, we should have all tools to offer help to those in need.

The waiting list is so long and many times I cried when I heard young people who felt hopeless about possible support for their mental health wellbeing.

It is not only cruel for them and their families, but also for clinicians who were trained to help but due to demands on the services this seems to be extremely delayed.

The Future For CAMHS?

Thanks to the ongoing support of charities whose main aim is to support children and young people they take a lot of pressure from CAMHS, nevertheless it is still not enough.

I and other clinicians are extremely worried about the future of the younger generation and we hope that the new government will look into those issues and decide to prioritise the mental health of children.

Working in CAMHS changed me evermore.

I had to face many horrible stories of abused children - stories I could not even imagine in my worst nightmares.

I felt honoured when children and young people felt confident to share what they went through and I could just offer them a listening ear and a therapeutic environment.

A Valuable And Enhancing Experience

I would like to encourage anyone who studies nursing to organise a bespoke placement with CAMHS.

I believe that it was a vital time for me as a student Nurse and enhanced my practice as a qualified practitioner.

I wish that placement with CAMHS could be mandatory training for all healthcare professionals.

Specialist CAMHS services have been seen as a specialty and not exactly recognised as either fully mental health or children’s nursing (Baldwin, 2020).

However, it is well known that childhood experiences shape a person’s future, but it still does not reflect the funding and resources put into CAMHS in recent years.