Dr Prathiba Chitsabesa new lead for young people’s mental health services

Dr Prathiba Chitsabesan, Clinical Director for Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

Dr Prathiba Chitsabesan has been appointed as Clinical Director for Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

She brings with her a wealth of experience, having been lead consultant for Stockport CAMHS for nine years. During this time she has worked with CAMHS colleagues, partner agencies and commissioners to develop and improve the service.

She has also produced regional guidance around children and young people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) for the Strategic Clinical Network (Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Cumbria) and published papers and reports for national bodies such as the Department of Health and the Youth Justice Board. More recently she has provided evidence to a Parliamentary Inquiry on the impact of neurodevelopmental disorders in young adult offenders.

Dr Chitsabesan said: “My aim is to ensure children and young people who are experiencing mental health and emotional wellbeing issues receive the help and support they need. Equally, I want to ensure parents and carers feel supported and empowered.

“There is a huge amount of work underway to improve access to child and adolescent mental health services and a key element of this is closer partnership working and ensuring there is early help available. This includes providing a range of innovative resources, support and advice online and working closely with a range of partners to enable them to provide low-level support to children and young people, where appropriate.

“By providing young people with support early on, we can help to reduce the chance of their issues becoming worse and the development of secondary difficulties. We are also improving their resilience by equipping them with a set of skills that will help them to more effectively cope with any future difficulties.

“I am looking forward to working alongside talented colleagues to further develop our services and ensure that children and young people have the very best start in life and can reach their full potential.”

Henry Ticehurst, Medical Director for Pennine Care, said: “I’d like to congratulate Prathiba and wish her every success with her new role. I’m confident that her wealth of experience, forward thinking and commitment will be a huge benefit to CAMHS across the Pennine Care patch.

“There was strong competition for this role, and this reflects really well on the willingness of the CAMHS consultant body to accept leadership responsibility. My thanks go to all applicants.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to publically thank our outgoing Clinical Director, Anna, for the fantastic work she has undertaken during her several years in the role. I’d also like to wish her a happy retirement.”