Closer2Home was the first intensive home treatment service launched by the Provider Collaborative in 2022 and one of the first in England. Read this update to learn about what the service has delivered and achieved in the last past three years.
Closer2Home is an intensive home treatment programme for young people with acute mental health difficulties to receive treatment at home rather than be admitted to hospital and was the first admission avoidance initiative set up by the Provider Collaborative.
It is a pioneering service that over the last three years has showcased how services can work collaboratively across geographical and organisational boundaries to deliver high quality community-based alternatives to admission.
Closer2Home has come a long way since it was first launched in February 2022 as a jointly-managed initiative between Dorset Healthcare and the previously-known Southern Health and Solent NHS trusts - now Hampshire & Isle of Wight NHS Foundation Trust.
Starting from scratch
Intensive home treatment services were still relatively new in specialist CAMHS provision, when this project began, which meant that the service had to be co-designed from scratch and made workable across the geographical and operational boundaries of the different provider trusts.
Over the last year Closer2Home has undergone a number of organisational changes, including the reorganisation of its host Provider Collaborative, the subsequent separation of the Dorset team and the merger of Solent and Southern Health Trusts.
This has led to many changes within the service, including the unification of the Hampshire teams.
Despite these changes, the ethos of the service has not changed, and the clinical caseload has increased year on year as the service has enhanced its offer to fit with the needs of local young people. To date, Closer2Home has worked with more than 230 young people and in most of those cases either reducing inpatient stays or avoiding them all together.
Co-production at the heart
Closer2Home ensures that the voices of young people, carers and families sit at the heart of decisions about service provision, by working in partnership to design the support they need and set goals for a young person's recovery.
It has taken on board the views of families about discharge and how difficult this time can be in a service such as this. The service adopts a collaborative approach with families and wider support networks, to offer flexibility without compromising the flow of referrals or access to timely support for other young people.
As part of a commitment to co-production, the voices of young people and families is embedded throughout the design and delivery of the service communications. Peer support specialists played a key role in the design of Closer2Home's website, ensuring that it resonates with young people and their families, offering clarity and reassurance about the service.
Building on this, Closer2Home is now embarking on a project to redesign its service leaflets, seeking input from young people and families who have used the service to ensure accessibility, and relevance.
Closer2Home also actively involves people with lived experience not only in service development but also on interview panels, ensuring their voices shape the future of the workforce.
By working in partnership to develop a blended service model across the footprint, the aim is that more young people will be supported in their homes and local communities, less young people will need to be admitted to out of area placements, which in turn will help save costs to be further invested in developing community-based services.
With a wider range of specialist CAMHS services available, admission and discharge processes will be better managed according to the clinical need and acuity of the young person. The Provider Collaborative is progressing an exciting further development of the Closer2Home service to offer an intensive eating disorder pathway.
Quote from a parent: “Closer2Home are brilliant, absolutely brilliant. How everyone came in to introduce themselves and building up a relationship slowly with our son. They take his views on board, and I love how creatively they think.”
Quote from a young person who has used Closer2Home: "To the wonderful Closer2Home team, I can't put into words how much you all have helped me. Six months ago, I didn't even see myself making it to the new year and now I'm at school, planning holidays and healing my relationship with food. I will forever be grateful for everything you guys have helped me achieve as I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for all of you. Your service is genuinely life changing and has been such a big part of my journey.”
