From 1 July 2024, this service will be delivered by Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCft). The team can be contacted:

Our ELCAS Primary Care Team was introduced during 2017 to respond to the pressures within Primary Care and help children and young people presenting with mental health problems to access the right care and treatment. 

The team consists of 10 Primary Mental Health Workers (PMHWs) based within a number of GP practices within Primary Care Networks (PCNs) across Blackburn with Darwen and East Lancashire. A Primary Care Network is a group of GP practices that work together to support the health and wellbeing of their local population. The team also includes our new Parenting Team, consisting of Parenting Practitioners who are working in primary schools supported by our Mental Health Support Teams and our new Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Practitioner (CYWP) based within Rossendale PCNs.  

The Role of the Primary Care Team

Our Primary Care Team play an important role within our community providing consultation and education to GP practices around the mental health presentations of children and young people, up to the age of 18yrs. The Primary Mental Health Workers assist GPs with decision making and will make recommendations on the most appropriate services GPs can refer to, including ELCAS, Children and Young People’ Psychology Services, community support services, voluntary sector and social care.   

Our ELCAS Primary Care Team model includes Assessment, Consultation and Brief Intervention (‘ACBI’) to children and young people presenting with mental health problems who may benefit from direct support from a Primary Mental Health Worker. The ACBI model provides a framework for person-centred consultation for up to three sessions with a Primary Mental Health Worker.  ACBI can be delivered flexibly within Primary Care Networks which may include joint working with Primary Care health professionals, liaison with school and other agencies to collect the relevant information, supporting the advice and recommendations, ensuring the best outcomes for the child or young person. 

Weekly Drop-in Sessions

The Primary Mental Health Workers offer weekly on-line drop in sessions for children and young people, family/carers and professionals who may be concerned regarding the mental health of any young person up to the age of 18yrs. 

The Primary Care Team are based:

Blackburn with Darwen:
  • Blackburn West PCN – Witton Medical Centre, Redlam Surgery and Limefield Surgery
  • Blackburn East PCN – St George’s Surgery, Roman Road Surgery
East Lancashire:
  • Burnley West PCN – Padiham Group Practice
  • Hyndburn Rural PCN – The Weavers Practice, Higher Heys Surgery
  • Hyndburn Central PCN – Oswald Medical Practice
  • Pendle West PCN – Pendle Valley Mill Practice
  • Pendle East PCN – Pendle Medical Partnership
  • Ribblesdale East PCN – Pendleside Medical Practice
  • Rossendale West PCN – Haslingden Health Care
  • Rossendale East PCN – Irwell Medical Practice

Training

Our Primary Care Team also support people within our communities to learn more about young peoples’ mental health by delivering Youth Mental Health First Aid Training (YMHFA). The YMHFA is available to anyone who works or comes into contact with children, for example: education staff, social workers, foster carers, sports leaders and health staff. They can also deliver bespoke training regarding mental health problems to professionals within Primary Care as and when required. 

Parenting Practitioners

Within ELCAS we are currently developing an evidence-based parenting programme which will run across all areas covered by the service. The program is called “Incredible Years” and is internationally researched and evaluated. The program consists of twelve, two hour weekly sessions and is aimed at helping parents of younger children (primary school age) with any difficulties relating to behaviour.

The Incredible Years programme supports parents to help them develop ways of building on their relationship with their child in positive ways, helps them to think about setting effective limits and boundaries and explores ideas of successfully managing any challenging behaviour that their children might show.

As part of this development, ELCAS have recruited two new parenting practitioners. However, for the most part, the Incredible Years groups will be rolled out in schools with the support of the Mental Health Support Teams initially across Blackburn with Darwen and Burnley and Pendle. In these areas we are very much encouraging the active participation of school staff of whom eight are now trained in delivering the programme. Therefore, it is envisaged that the two new ELCAS parenting practitioners will be predominantly based and developing the program in the Hyndburn, Rossendale and Ribblesdale area. 

Given the above arrangement, we are encouraging and expecting most referrals to the groups to come from schools themselves. It is important though that we widen parents' access to the groups and we will promote the program to other teams within ELCAS.

We aim for each Mental Health Support Team to support around six groups in each academic year. We are also encouraging schools to cluster together for groups to help them provide support to parents across different locations.

We are prioritising the importance in group delivery of programme fidelity. To do this there will be training provided and regular supervision for group leaders. The evidence in research has shown how important this is to support effective change for parents.

The groups started in September 2022 within Blackburn with Darwen and  parental feedback shows them to be supportive and helpful. We hope to add to this evaluation in due course with a more formal report on, and consideration of, the groups outcomes.

Information for professionals

For information on our referral criteria please click here.

How the PMHW can help you:

Offer consultation to professionals within the PCNs on how best to support the child/young person and their parent/carer, including recommendations on which service is the most relevant to refer the child or young person to

  • Offer direct contacts as per ACBI model to children and young people within the PCN
  • Promote information sharing between ELCAS and Primary Care, offering a single point of consultation for children’s mental health problems
  • Attend and support GP practice safeguarding and team meetings as required 
  • Offer advice and information for families and carers
  • Drop-in sessions are open to health professionals as well as children, young people and their families
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