A NEW panel made up of young people, parents, carers and professionals has been launched during Mental Health Awareness Week.
The Strategic Advisory Panel will offer mental-health support, and advise on the delivery of the government’s children and young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental-health strategy, which has a budget of £6 million over three years and a further £2.25 million recurring from 2025.
The panel of 14 was introduced at a conference hosted by the Lieutenant-Governor, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, and the Jersey Community Partnership Group, at Jersey Zoo yesterday.
Children, Young People, Education, and Skills director general Rob Sainsbury said: ‘Over the past few years there has been an increase in both demand for mental-health services and an increase in complexity of need, which we believe to be exacerbated by the pandemic. There has been an increase in referrals to both the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and the Youth Enquiry Service.’
He thanked the panel ‘for committing to this important piece of work and helping us with our vision for all children and young people in Jersey to be happy and thriving and to able to enjoy the best mental health and wellbeing’.
Based on international data, it is estimated that one in six children, aged five to 16 years and one in five 17- to 22-year-olds in Jersey are likely to have a mental-health disorder.
