A major new mental health service for young people and their families is set to launch in the Isle of Man this year, following a £4 million investment into the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

The initiative, named ‘Talk’, will provide a streamlined, accessible route for under-18s experiencing mental health difficulties, offering assessments, advice, and where appropriate, talking-based psychological therapies.

The service will be delivered in partnership between CAMHS and mental health charity Isle Listen.

Of the funding secured in 2024 to transform CAMHS over the next three years, around £1 million has been ring-fenced to establish the Talk service, which is being described as an ‘innovative approach’ to mental health support.

A key component of the new service will be a ‘single point of access’, allowing young people, families, and carers to self-refer via a dedicated website, phone line, or drop-in sessions.

This aspect of the service is expected to go live in spring 2025, aiming to reduce waiting times for specialist support.

It’s seen as crucial as when the £4 million was secured in June last year there were around 1,200 children on the waiting list to see CAHMS, the overwhelming majority of which are waiting for an Autism or ADHD assessment.

Around £500k of that has been used for the recruitment of six professionals to assist with those assessments and provide support post-diagnosis.

These practitioners will receive additional specialist training to enhance their ability to provide early intervention for young people with emerging mental health concerns.

Ross Bailey, head of integrated mental health services, emphasised the significance of the collaboration between CAMHS and Isle Listen.

He said: ‘The partnership between CAMHS and Isle Listen is crucial in delivering community-based early intervention services.

‘The recruitment of new specialists and the implementation of a single access point are key achievements in our ongoing efforts to support mental health in our community.’

Isle Listen chief executive, Andrea Chambers, added: ‘The team at Isle Listen is excited to be working with colleagues in CAMHS to bring about lasting change to service users and their families.’

The new measures aim to improve accessibility to mental health support and alleviate pressures on CAMHS, ensuring that those with complex or high-risk needs receive timely specialist care.

Isle Listen has outlined that the main goals of the Talk service are to ensure young people are seen more quickly and to reduce waiting times for CAMHS referrals.

However, despite the secured funding for Talk, Isle Listen has highlighted its ongoing reliance on additional financial support to continue providing therapeutic services for 18- to 25-year-olds, as well as its wider preventative education programmes in schools.

The charity, based in Castletown, currently delivers mental health education to more than 10,000 young people annually, with the overall cost of these services exceeding £1 million per year.

Further details about the Talk service and its rollout are expected to be announced in the coming months.