CHILDREN and young people in crisis will be able to access out of hours support as the new provider of mental health services in York and Selby extends its hospital liaison service.

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation (TEWV), which took over responsibility for services in October, is recruiting children’s mental health practitioners to provide the service, seven days a week, from 1pm to 9pm.

It is advertising for seven practitioners in York and Selby to conduct urgent assessments of young people in crisis, for example having self harmed or overdosed.

It will be an improvement on the current service, which only runs from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Outside these hours the trust operates an on-call service via the accident and emergency department at York Hospital.

Carol Redmond, head of children and young people’s services in York and Selby, said: “This development means there will be more support available out of hours for young people and their families when they are experiencing a crisis.

“It will lead to shorter waiting times in A&E for mental health assessment and will reduce the need to admit some young people to the paediatric ward.”

The extended service will be up and running in May when child and adolescent mental health service practitioners will be on hand in A&E to provide expert assessment and support.

Alan Boyer, clinical lead for the hospital liaison service, said: “This is great news for the liaison service and will help us meet the needs of young people.”

This development is taking place at the same time as the trust is implementing plans to bring adult assessment and treatment inpatient services back to York following the closure of Bootham Park Hospital.

A spokesperson for TEWV said: "Since the trust took over in October 2015 it has already re-opened the 136 Suite (place of safety) at the hospital and plans to start providing outpatient clinics in the building again in February.

"Work on the interim adult facility, to be located at Peppermill Court in York started this week and the refurbished 24-bed inpatient unit will re-open in the summer."

A new replacement for Bootham Park Hospital is expected to be open in York by 2019.