Impact of transforming mental health services for young people in England on patient access, resource use and health: a quasi-experimental study

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) transformation in South East England on patient access, resource utilisation and health outcomes. DESIGN: In an observational study, we use difference-in-differences analysis with propensity score matching to analyse routinely collected patient level data. SETTING: Three CAMHS services in South East England. PARTICIPANTS: All patients attending CAMHS between April 2012 and December 2018, with more than 57 000 spells of care included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The rate and volume of people accessing CAMHS; waiting times to the first contact and waiting times between the first and second contact; and health outcomes, including the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS). RESULTS: The intervention led to 20% (incidence rate ratio: 1.20; 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.24) more new patients starting per month. There was mixed evidence on waiting times for the first contact. The intervention led to 10% (incidence rate ratio: 1.10; 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.18) higher waiting time for the second contact. The number of contacts per spell (OR: 1.08; 95% CI: 0.94 to 1.25) and the rereferral rate (OR: 1.06; 95% CI: 0.96 to 1.17) were not significantly different. During the post intervention period, patients in the intervention group scored on average 3.3 (95% CI: −5.0 to −1.6) points lower on the RCADS and 1.0 (95% CI: −1.8 to -0.3) points lower on the SDQ compared with the control group after adjusting for the baseline score. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, there are signs that transformation can help CAMHS achieve the objectives of greater access and improved health outcomes, but trade-offs exist among different performance metrics, particularly between access and waiting times. Commissioners and providers should be conscious of any trade-offs when undertaking service redesign and transformation.