Redbridge Health Board is set to address the critical issue of child suicide prevention at its meeting on Monday, 30 June 2025. The discussion follows a Regulation 28 notice issued after the tragic death of a 12-year-old, referred to as AA, who had a history of self-harm, low mood and anxiety.

The inquest into AA's death concluded that it was: “…a result of suicide, contributed to by neglect…''. and that these failings took place in the context of a very under-resourced Emotional Wellbeing Mental Health Service (EWMHS)."

The Regulation 28 notice, issued by His Majesty's Coroner for East London to the North East London Integrated Care Board (ICB) in August 2023, highlighted these failings within the EWMHS.

Doug Tanner, Head of Start Well, Redbridge Place Based Partnership, North East London Integrated Care Board (NEL ICB), will provide an update on the actions taken in response to the notice. According to the Public reports pack, adjustments have been made to the Mental Health Investment Standard (MHIS) allocations to align Redbridge with comparator boroughs. The allocations of the Mental Health Investment Standard (MHIS) have now been recurrently adjusted to uplift Redbridge to a position of financial parity with comparator Boroughs over the coming years.

NELFT has recruited to permanent clinical posts, including a consultant psychiatrist, a consultant therapist and therapists. These new staff members have facilitated senior clinical oversight of both initial assessments and discharge planning, improving throughput and enabling children and young people to either move swiftly through the pathway or be appropriately signposted out of the service. Interim roles have also been created to reduce waiting times, leading to a significant reduction in the number of children and young people requiring full initial assessments.

In addition to recruitment, the expansion of community CAMHS practitioners is being undertaken, building upon the success of initial pilot schemes. This expansion has demonstrated that targeted case holding roles within primary care both reduces CAMHS referrals and results in a significantly improved service user experience for the families.