West Sussex brings all child mental health services under one hub

In recent years, the landscape of children's and young people's mental health services (CYP MHS) in England has become increasingly complex and, at times, unwieldy. Fragmented commissioning streams, multiple access points, disparate professional disciplines, and inconsistent local governance have, for many families, meant navigating a labyrinth of services rather than receiving timely help. Against this backdrop of rising demand and stretched resources, the announcement by West Sussex County Council (WSCC) of a single leadership-led, psychology-driven "Psychological Hub” marks a significant step in re-thinking how children's mental health support is organised (West Sussex County Council (2025a)).

In this blog, Dr Richard Dune explores the context for such structural reform, surveys models of CYP MHS in the UK and internationally, critically analyses the West Sussex initiative, and draws out implications for health & care leaders, especially those in regulated sectors supported by tools such as ComplyPlus™. Its purpose is to inform governance, compliance, and strategic discussions rather than to provide operational detail.

The case for change: demand, system issues and policy signals

Rising demand and changing needs

Over the past decade, the mental health needs of children and young people have grown significantly, reflecting broader social, economic and health system pressures across the UK. National data highlight the scale and urgency of the challenge:

• The Children's Commissioner's Office estimated that around 12.8 % of children aged 5-19 in England have a diagnosable mental health condition (Children's Commissioner for England, 2020).

• The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) national review of CYP mental health services in 2023 noted that CYP MHS is "the fastest growing area of healthcare across the country” (GIRFT, 2023).

• Press coverage in 2024 reported a 53 % increase in emergency and urgent referrals to CAMHS crisis teams between 2019-20 and 2022-23, a stark indicator of escalating distress (The Guardian, 2024).

System and governance challenges

Despite significant investment and reform efforts, the organisation and oversight of children's mental health services remain fragmented, creating barriers to coordinated and effective care.

• Multiple tiers of service (Tier 1 community, Tier 2 targeted, Tier 3 specialist and inpatient) have often operated in silos, complicating referral pathways and causing duplication or gaps (NHS England, 2023).

• A lack of common data platforms, different lead organisations (health, education, social care), and inconsistent governance structures have contributed to variations in quality, access, and outcomes. Research briefings note that “new models of CYP MHS … face significant implementation challenges” including workforce, capacity and leadership (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, 2018).

• The fragmentation also increases risks around safeguarding, transition (e.g., from children’s to adult services) and equitable access for marginalised groups. For example, the NSPCC highlights the elevated risk for children with disabilities, children in care, LGBTQ+ youth and those experiencing abuse (NSPCC Learning, 2025).

Policy and regulatory context

The policy landscape for children's mental health is evolving rapidly, reflecting wider reforms across the NHS and local government aimed at improving integration, accountability and outcomes.

• The expansion of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) and the drive toward system-based commissioning offer an enabling context for reform.

• Regulatory frameworks emphasise early intervention, integrated working across health, education and social care, and person-centred planning. For example, the Ergonomics / Human Factors dimension (relevant to user-centred service design) is increasingly referenced in patient safety discussions.

• For organisations operating in regulated sectors (health, adult social care, children’s services), regulatory bodies such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Ofsted emphasise safe and effective leadership, integrated governance, data-driven improvement and joined-up systems.

Thus, the convergence of higher needs, system strain, and policy/regulatory momentum places a premium on fresh models that emphasise integration, digital-enabled flow, and governance aligned with outcomes.

Models of CYP MHS: What has been tried in the UK and globally

To evaluate the West Sussex initiative, it is helpful to review prominent models of children's mental health service organisation.

The THRIVE Framework (UK)

The THRIVE Framework (developed by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust) is a needs-led, person-centred model that groups support into five domains, e.g., "Getting Advice & Signposting", "Getting Help", "Getting More Help", and "Getting Risk Support". It emphasises co-production with children, young people & families, as well as shared decision-making and integration across sectors. As a system change model, THRIVE is being adopted by more than 70 local areas via the i-THRIVE community of practice (Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, 2025).

• Strengths - conceptual clarity, alignment with prevention/early help, and encourages system-wide collaboration.

• Limitations - Implementation can be inconsistent; benefits rely on data systems, culture change and multi-agency governance.

Single Point of Access (SPoA)/"Front Door" Models

Several local areas in England have simplified referrals by offering a Single Point of Access for children, young people and families. For example, in West Sussex, a SPoA was launched in June 2022 to direct referrals to the right service across the county (Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, 2022).
Such models emphasise earlier triage, fewer hand-offs, and referral routing rather than multiple entry points.
This reduces duplication, sometimes improves time-to-intervention and simplifies user experience.
Risk - Without adequate capacity downstream, front-door models can become bottlenecks; they require a strong workforce and governance.

Hub-and-spoke and integrated multi-agency “Hubs”

Internationally, many jurisdictions are testing “hubs" where allied disciplines (education, health, social care, third sector) are co-located, share data, and offer a multi-modal response. For example, in some Nordic countries, children's wellbeing centres bring together mental health clinical expertise, social work, and family services under one roof. The “hub” concept emphasises coordination, co-governance and simpler navigation.
In the UK, this concept is gaining traction: the West Sussex "Psychological Hub" is an explicit example of this approach.

Disorder-specific or age-based services

Some service models are designed around distinct diagnostic groups or age cohorts, for example, specialist eating disorder services, first-episode psychosis programmes for young people, or youth mental health services covering ages 0–25.

• Strengths - These approaches enable highly tailored interventions for specific high-risk populations, ensuring focused expertise and targeted resource allocation.

• Weaknesses - However, they can unintentionally reinforce service silos, making coordination with universal or early-help provision more difficult.

International/highest-performing models

Globally, high-performing systems emphasise: early intervention in primary care or school settings; digital triage/self-help; multidisciplinary teams; strong data flows; and shared governance across sectors. The UK's emerging models draw from these principles.

Lessons from the literature

A 2018 parliamentary briefing (POSTnote) summarises common challenges: aligning models with workforce supply, ensuring digital interoperability, funding sustainable services, and achieving system change rather than isolated pilots.

A 2024 model specification document for England (for Tiers 2/3 CAMHS) provides a useful baseline for commissioning (NHS England, 2023).

The Health Innovation North West Coast model emphasises digital portals, single referral routes, multi-agency deployment, and needs stratification (Health Innovation North West Coast, 2024).

The West Sussex Psychological Hub – features, strengths and risks

Overview of the model

As of early November 2025, West Sussex County Council has formally launched the “Psychological Hub”, a new structure that brings together children’s mental health services under a single psychology-led leadership team (West Sussex County Council, 2025a).
Key features include:

• A single leadership team to unify previously independent specialist services.

• A single referral route for families, aiming to integrate education, health and social care.

• Therapy “pods” based at County Hall North (Horsham) offering calm, dedicated spaces for therapeutic work.

• Focus areas include children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) at risk of school placement breakdown, hospitalisation due to mental health, children and families in need of reunification, and children at risk of self-harm or harmful behaviour.

What this says about culture, governance and data

• The shift to one leadership team signals a move from project-based silos to a system-based approach. That aligns with the governance themes you referenced: leadership alignment, data interoperability, co-production, and improvement-centred governance.

• The referral information page emphasises the ambition for the children/families supported, as well as the desire to provide “the best possible service” (West Sussex County Council, 2025b).

• The single referral route offers both an improved user experience and better data capture (fewer hand-offs, clearer triage, more consistent outcomes).
  

The strengths of the approach

Early analysis of the West Sussex Psychological Hub reveals several positive features that position it as a potentially transformative model for integrated children’s mental health care:

• Navigation and accessibility - Families no longer need to navigate multiple services with separate entry points, reducing confusion and delays.

• Interdisciplinary alignment - The integration of therapists, social workers, and psychologists under a single structure enhances coordination and a shared culture.

• Prevention and inclusion of SEND - Including children at risk of placement breakdown or hospitalisation signals an investment in earlier intervention, which aligns with evidence that early help improves outcomes.

• Place-based provision - Having dedicated therapy pods in a calm, welcoming environment helps reduce stigma and supports a more child-centred experience.

• Governance clarity - A single leadership team enables clearer accountability, a unified data strategy and potential for continuous improvement.

Key risks and challenges

While the West Sussex model shows considerable promise, several operational and strategic risks must be addressed to ensure its long-term effectiveness and sustainability:

• Workforce capacity - Consolidation is helpful, but if the workforce (therapists, psychologists, social care staff) is already overstretched, a hub model may simply centralise delays rather than reduce them.

• Downstream capacity bottlenecks - Improved triage and referral are only part of the story; the system must have the capacity to deliver assessments, therapy, and follow-up. Many models fail at this link.
  

• Data and digital interoperability - A single referral route is beneficial only if information flows seamlessly across health, education and social care. Legacy systems may create friction.

• Governance of multiple stakeholder interests - Even within a single leadership team, distinct organisational cultures (education, health, social care) remain, with differing metrics, funding regimes, and professional practice norms.

• Risk of “hub” becoming a gatekeeper - If the hub is perceived as the only entry point without adequate alternatives or early help options, there is a danger of triage overload and a bottleneck effect.

• Sustainability and evaluation - As with many change initiatives, success will depend on how outcomes are measured, how data are used for continuous improvement, and whether the model can be sustained financially and operationally in the long term.

How it aligns with best-practice models

When compared with established frameworks and high-performing systems, the West Sussex Psychological Hub demonstrates several features consistent with recognised best practice in children's mental health service design:

• The WSCC hub reflects the THRIVE principle of a needs-led, integrated system, rather than relying on diagnostic or severity labels.

• The single referral route echoes SPoA models that have shown promise in reducing navigation delays.

• The multi-disciplinary approach aligns with international hub-and-spoke best practices.

• The inclusion of SEND, school-placement risk and early help signals alignment with earlier intervention frameworks being advocated across policy.

What’s missing or untested

Although the West Sussex Psychological Hub represents a progressive model of integrated care, several aspects remain underdeveloped or yet to be evaluated in practice:

• Quantitative results - At this early stage, there is limited publicly available data on wait times, access, user experience or outcomes for the hub. Transparent measurement will be key.

• Service user co-design - While the model statement emphasises ambition, published details on co-production with families and children is limited, yet this is central to frameworks like THRIVE.

• Integration with digital platforms - The literature suggests that digital triage/self-help portals are enabling components of future CYP MHS models. It is unclear how far WSCC’s hub integrates this (see Health Innovation North West Coast model for reference).

• Transition beyond children into adulthood - Effective CYP MHS needs robust arrangements for transition to adult services (age 18–25). This is often a gap in hub models.

Critical thoughts: What the reform means for governance, compliance and strategic leadership

Governance shift from assurance to improvement

In regulated sectors, such as healthcare, adult social care, and children’s services. The push is increasingly toward improvement-centred governance, not simply compliance. One leadership team for a psychological hub supports this shift: it enables rapid learning loops, consistent data, clear responsibilities, and an aligned culture. For organisations such as ours, this emphasises the importance of systems (like ComplyPlus™) that embed improvement intelligence, link documents to policy and procedures, and support training across the integrated workforce.

Data and digital interoperability as an enabler

One of the key themes surfaced in your LinkedIn post was data and digital interoperability. The hub model’s viability depends on this: single referral routes succeed only when they link into common datasets, allow for shared triage, track outcomes, and span the boundaries of education, health, and social care. Training on digital literacy, interoperability protocols and human factors in data handling will be essential components of any compliance or governance system.

Leadership alignment and culture change

Dividing services into multiple silos often leads to variations in professional culture, priorities and metrics. The hub model demands unified leadership with a common vision and shared metrics, a culture of “We work together for the child/family” rather than “I represent my service”.

Training and continuous professional development (CPD) frameworks must support this cultural shift: cross-professional training, shared learning, and reflective practice. For The Mandatory Training Group, this offers an opportunity to position accredited programmes that support multi-disciplinary, integrated working.

Co-production and lived experience in design

While physical and structural integration is important, the human dimension, involving children, young people and their families, is core to effectiveness. Models such as THRIVE emphasise shared decision-making and co-production. For your audience (CQC/Ofsted-regulated providers and compliance professionals), this means embedding policies and training modules that explicitly incorporate service-user voice, equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) principles, and tailoring services to children’s lived experience. The hub must not simply be a structural reform but also a relational one.

Prevention over crisis

One of the stronger signals from the literature is that waiting for specialist crisis intervention is less efficient and less effective than early help, universal provision and prevention (for example, school-based programmes, digital self-help, early identification). The hub model must ensure that it doesn’t merely re-package specialist services but also strengthens earlier help and prevention. Otherwise, it risks becoming another Tier 3 access point rather than a system-wide solution.

Implications for compliance and risk management

As integrated models like the West Sussex Psychological Hub evolve, robust compliance and risk management frameworks become essential to ensure regulatory alignment, data integrity, and safe, effective governance across multi-agency systems.

From a compliance and governance point of view:

• Single leadership means clearer responsibility and accountability (which is helpful for regulators).

• Shared data systems mean unified risk registers, common KPIs and uniform audits.

• Integrated service models reduce record duplication, policy/procedure variation, and governance fragmentation.

However, they raise new risks, such as data sharing across agencies, which need robust governance frameworks (GDPR, safeguarding, consent). Training must include human factors (such as handoffs, referrals, and record-keeping errors), and system changes require continuous monitoring, which your LMS and policy-repository tools can support.

Measuring success: What to look out for

For those leading children’s mental health services or supporting them via governance systems, key metrics should include:

• Time from referral to first intervention

• Proportion of children requiring escalation to crisis teams or inpatient care

• Family-reported satisfaction and involvement in decision-making

• Rates of placement breakdown (for SEND or high-risk groups)

• Outcomes (improvement in wellbeing, attendance, school performance, reduction in harmful behaviours)

• Data completeness and interoperability, e.g., cross-agency information sharing

Workforce metrics - Retention, cross-professional collaboration, training uptake.

Broader reflections and strategic implications

Does the hub model scale?

West Sussex’s move is promising, but scaling and sustaining it across local systems will require attention to funding, workforce, and digital infrastructure. The model may not be transplanted without contextual adaptation, including local population needs, geography (rural/urban), workforce availability, local governance arrangements, and partner organisations, which vary significantly.

Role of technology and digital innovation

While structural reform is vital, technology will increasingly be a differentiator. Digital triage portals, self-help apps, remote therapy, shared dashboards; these are features of the next-generation CYP MHS. The Health Innovation North West Coast model illustrates this trend (Health Innovation North West Coast, 2024).
For compliance and governance systems, this means that frameworks must anticipate digital transformation, including data governance, cybersecurity, interoperability standards, and digital literacy training.

Integration with education and social care

Children’s mental health does not live solely in health services. Education settings, social care, voluntary and community sectors all play integral roles. Effective hub models therefore require strong partnerships with schools, colleges, social care teams, youth services and third-sector organisations. The governance architecture must reflect this: joint boards, cross-agency commissioning, aligned KPIs.

Financial and policy sustainability

Given the pressure on public finances, the move to integrated models must demonstrate cost-effectiveness, reduced duplication, improved outcomes and reduced crisis demands. Policymakers will increasingly look for return on investment, value for money, and measurable impact. For us, that means compliance technology (such as ComplyPlus™) must support not only regulatory adherence but also operational intelligence, data-driven improvement and audit of outcomes.

Equity, access and marginalised populations

Any model must explicitly address inequalities. Children from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic backgrounds, those with SEND, those in care or from deprived communities have higher mental health risk but often lower access. The hub model must include metrics and governance to monitor equity. The NSPCC and other sources underline this imperative (NSPCC Learning, 2025).

Implications for training and continuous professional development

Integrated systems demand integrated training: psychologists, therapists, social workers, educators, and allied professionals need a shared language, joint learning, and cross-disciplinary understanding. Regulatory compliance (e.g., safeguarding, data protection, information sharing) becomes more complex. Your organisation’s accredited LMS and document repository tools are well-positioned to support this evolution.

Recommendations for health and care leaders

In light of the West Sussex case and broader system reform, here are actionable recommendations for leadership teams in the children’s mental health space:

• Establish a unified leadership and governance structure - Explicitly bring together health, education, and social care partners; define a single leadership team with clear accountability; and align strategy, metrics, and risk registers.

• Implement a single referral route/entry point - Ensure families have one “front door.” Deploy triage and pathway mapping, and ensure downstream capacity is aligned.

• Ensure strong data and digital infrastructure - Invest in interoperable systems, shared care records, and dashboards for governance. Training must include digital literacy and human factors.

• Embed multi-disciplinary teams - Ensure psychologists, social workers, education practitioners, and therapists collaborate regularly; promote shared CPD and reflective practice.

• Prioritise early intervention and prevention - Don’t simply consolidate specialist services; invest in community, school-based, self-help and digital early help options.

• Engage children, young people and families in co-design - Ensure voices of lived experience shape service design, pathways and continuous improvement loops.

• Monitor metrics with improvement focus - Move from compliance (did we do what we said?) to performance and outcomes (did we deliver what mattered?) - track access, outcomes, equity, experience.

• Address capacity, workforce and sustainability - Assess workforce pipelines, retention, cross-professional roles; ensure funding is aligned with integrated delivery rather than discrete silos.

• Align with compliance and regulatory frameworks - Integrate governance frameworks (data protection, safeguarding, education-health-care integration) into training modules, policy templates and document repositories.
  

• Iterate and evaluate - Build feedback loops, evaluation frameworks, and continuous improvement mechanisms; invest in the human factors of change (culture, leadership, and alignment), not just structural redesign.
  

Conclusion

The launch of the West Sussex Psychological Hub offers a timely and insightful demonstration of how children’s mental health services can evolve from fragmented projects into a coherent, system-based model. It aligns with global best practice, UK policy momentum and the governance imperatives facing regulated sectors. For organisations like yours, Richard, that play a role in training, compliance and governance, this presents a rich opportunity: to shape the professional capability, digital infrastructure and policy architecture that will underpin the next generation of integrated mental health services.

But structural reform alone is not sufficient. The ultimate test lies in improved experience and outcomes for children, young people and their families, fewer crisis referrals, shorter waits, smoother transitions, equitable access, and empowered service users. Integrated leadership, interoperable data, multi-disciplinary culture, co-production, prevention orientation and robust governance must all come together.

In driving this agenda, systems such as ComplyPlus™ and ComplyPlus LMS™ can support compliance-bound providers in staying ahead of regulatory expectations, embedding digital-enabled training, and aligning policies and procedures with everyday culture and practice. The goal is not simply to “tick the box” but to secure sustainable, measurable improvement in children’s mental wellbeing.

About The Mandatory Training Group

Since 2012, we have delivered accredited training, compliance tools and governance frameworks to health, adult social care and children's services. Our ComplyPlus™ software platform offers an all-in-one solution: an accredited LMS, central document repository, policy templates, training varieties and a streamlined compliance management system. For leaders committed to high-quality, regulated service delivery, ComplyPlus™ delivers governance, assurance and improvement in one place.

For further thought-leadership articles, training packages or a demo of ComplyPlus™, contact us via The Mandatory Training Group.

References

Children’s Commissioner for England (2020) - The State of Children’s Mental Health Services 

Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) (2023) - Child and Young People’s Mental Health Services: National Report. 

The Guardian (2024) - Children’s emergency mental health referrals in England soar by 53%. 

Health Innovation North West Coast (2024) - Mental Health in Children and Young People: Innovative Models of Care. 

NHS England (2023) - Model Specification for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Targeted and Specialist Levels: Tiers 2 and 3). 

NSPCC Learning (2025) - Child Mental Health.

Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (2018) POSTnote 563 - Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services. 

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (2022) - New West Sussex Single Point of Access for Children and Young People Launches Today.

Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust (2025) - The THRIVE Framework for System Change. 

West Sussex County Council (2025a) - County Council Launches New Specialist Support Hub for Children and Families. 

West Sussex County Council (2025b) -  Referrals to the Psychological Hub.