Are you between 17 and 25 years old? Have you used mental health services? Take our survey!
Thank you to Cambridgeshire Deaf Association for creating this video for us.
Hearing from young people
Through our work we've heard from many young people about their experiences of what needs improving as well as what works well.
Case Study
Rachel* was referred to mental health services by her school at the age of 14 and had to wait approximately three months for support.
The impact on everyday life
Rachel reports that the wait for help affected relationships, made school harder and, overall, the delay to getting help impacted everyday life in general, as well as increasing her levels of worry and anxiety. Rachel says: “my mental health got worse”.
Waiting a year to move to adult services
Rachel was referred for counselling; she felt listened to and it helped her become more independent. However, at times she also felt rushed. Rachel was not referred to adult services for a year and this wait left her feeling upset, disappointed and ignored.
More information needed for young people
Talking about the move, Rachel feels that more information would have helped to improve the experience.
“I’ve worked with some places before when I was younger but as I’ve gotten older (20) there’s suddenly that change from childhood to adult right? So support doesn’t really grow with you or there’s not much support for when you suddenly have to do it all yourself and you’re not sure where to go or who to go to.”
*Name has been changed to protect identity.
The journey through mental health services - from youth to adult
We’ve been working with local communities and professionals over the last 12 months to set our goals for the future. One of the biggest areas that came up was mental health support - ensuring more people can receive clearer information on what to expect, involving those with lived experience to produce and develop services, and, importantly, to create a more supportive journey from youth to adult mental health services.
Since launching our 2025-2030 strategy, we have worked with mental health charities, service providers and professionals to produce a survey that helps us to find out more from young people.
We’re working with lots of great local organisations, like:
- CPFT (Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS mental health services)
- The SUN Network
- MIND Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire
- Fullscope
- Integrated Care System
- Peterborough City Council
- Cambridgeshire County Council
Why are we doing this?
- Because we’re hearing that things aren’t working the way they should.
- People are waiting too long for help.
- It’s hard to know where to go or who to talk to.
- Services often don’t talk to each other – or to the people using them.
- Young people often feel ignored or left out of decisions.
Later this year, on the 8th October, the Healthwatch Summit - our big event - will focus on mental health. There will be over 200 people in attendance, including healthcare decision makers and mental health professionals. We’ll be sharing the results of this survey at that event and using the information to produce reports to share with those responsible for our local mental health services.
“We are hearing from both service providers and the public that the move between youth and adult mental health services could be improved. The journey from youth to adult services should not feel like a leap into the unknown, yet many young people experience uncertainty and a lack of support during this critical time. We want to hear directly from those who have gone through the process themselves, what worked well and what could be improved. By capturing these experiences, we aim to support service providers to help create a smoother, more supportive move from youth to adult mental health services for future young people.” - Jess Slater, CEO, Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
How we will use your information
The information you share with us in this survey will help us to identify areas for improvement in mental health services. We may use quotes in our future reports and at our Summit as explained above, but we will not use any information that will identify you. We will log your feedback and share what you tell us with the organisations who make decisions about mental health services. We take out any information that could identify you when we do this.
Share your views on mental health services
We’ve already heard from lots of people, but now we want to hear directly from you.
What's working? What's not? What needs to change? Tell us your views!
Complete our survey online by clicking the button below.
Prefer an Easy Read version of the survey?
If you'd prefer an Easy Read format, click below. To use the Easy Read format, first you will need to download it. When you open the survey on your computer, you will be able to click on the tick boxes and write in the text boxes. When you have finished the survey, save it to your computer and email a copy to: enquiries@healthwatchcambspboro.co.uk
