Healthwatch in Greater Manchester – Pathway to CAMHS Report – 6 Months On

Our report made a series of recommendations to support meaningful change, and we committed to following up with system partners to track progress and maintain transparency.

Who We’ve Heard From – and Who We Haven’t

Since publishing the report, we’ve received some initial responses and updates from a number of partners. These include:

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) responded to the report by acknowledging the significant pressures on services, particularly around neurodevelopmental conditions, and welcomed the opportunity to use patient feedback to guide improvements. They apologised for instances where crisis follow-up did not occur and outlined efforts to improve urgent care responses. MFT is reviewing its Single Point of Access and developing shared neurodevelopmental pathways with partners in Manchester, Salford, and Trafford. A CAMHS communication strategy is underway, including updated web content and a “Waiting Well” offer for families. They also highlighted participation in GM-wide service specification work, the upcoming launch of the Greater Manchester Autism Centre (Q1 2025/26), and involvement in the national Demand, Capacity and Flow collaborative to improve neurodiversity pathways. MFT explained they are continuing to expand workforce and reiterated its commitment to long-term system collaboration to address access, equity, and service quality.

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust (PCFT) provided and update to the CAMHS report by acknowledging the ongoing challenges caused by a significant shortfall in clinical capacity and emphasised that long waiting times cannot be resolved by the Trust alone, but require a whole-system response. They outlined local actions being taken, including the introduction of additional capacity in Tameside from February 2025 to improve contact with families on waiting lists and expand clinical input into the ASD and ADHD pathways. The Trust reported reductions in waiting times for the core pathway in areas like Tameside, Bury, and Rochdale, despite ongoing workforce pressures in some localities. They also described work to improve flow across all pathways through additional appointments and regular list reviews, and noted that most areas now offer “padlets” or similar resources to provide families with support and information while waiting. Pennine Care welcomed system-level work to redesign neurodevelopmental pathways and reduce variation across Greater Manchester, and reaffirmed their commitment to supporting transformation through collaboration.

Stockport partners responded to the CAMHS report with a commitment to collaborative working and system improvement. Healthwatch Stockport confirmed they had contacted the family involved in the case study to check whether further support was needed and worked with services to ensure the family received appropriate care. The report was shared through local governance channels, including presentation at the Stockport Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Partnership and the One Stockport Mental Health and Wellbeing Partnership. As part of a wider piece of work with PCFT CAMHS, Stockport services reviewed their Single Point of Access and Early Help pathway to ensure that families and professionals understood where and how to refer into mental health services. They also took steps to improve awareness of local support offers, including through the use of Padlets, to ensure information was clear and accessible.

We received a response from Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) acknowledging that a formal reply to the CAMHS report had not previously been issued and apologising for the delay. They confirmed that the report had since been shared with CAMHS leads for review and that some of the recommendations were already being addressed through existing workstreams and the revised CAMHS Service Specification. GMMH also committed to developing a Divisional Action Plan following a full review of the recommendations. However, we have yet to see or hear any further follow-up from the Trust since that initial response in April.

Following the publication of our report, we wrote formally to the ICB to request an update on activity and actions taken in response to the issues raised. Although our letter—acknowledged as received on 31st March—did not initially receive a response within the statutory 20 working days, we have now received a formal reply from NHS Greater Manchester.

In their response, NHS GM acknowledged the insight provided by children, young people, families, and professionals and confirmed that children and young people’s mental health remains a key priority. They noted that the recommendations from our report have directly informed their ongoing transformation work to improve mental health and emotional wellbeing services across the region. Their update outlines a focus on system collaboration, resilient community services, and a preventative, early intervention approach—within the constraints of available funding.

GM ICB remain committed to working closely with Healthwatch, families, children, and young people as partners in the ongoing development and transformation of mental health services across Greater Manchester. In the current context of significant demand and limited resources, collaboration is more important than ever. While we recognise there is still much to do, and the challenges facing the system are significant, we are dedicated to making progress through honest dialogue, shared insight, and action.

GM ICB

We welcome this update and the commitment from providers and the ICB to continued partnership working with Healthwatch. We will continue to monitor progress and ensure that children, young people, and families across Greater Manchester remain at the heart of future developments.