A 'GAME changing' mental health service is set to revolutionise support and care for children and young people across Oxfordshire.

The new Oxfordshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is intended to provide a joined-up partnership with third sector [voluntary and charity] organisations that will build 'community resilience, self-management, prevention and early consultation.'

By joining forces with charities such as RAW, Response and Oxfordshire Youth, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust hopes to be able to offer different types of treatment sooner.

The charities will work together with the young person and the trust to decide what treatment, from music therapy at arts project Ark T to seeing one of the trust's psychiatrists, would be most beneficial for their recovery.

Chief executive of mental health charity Response, John McLaughlin, said the new service would revolutionise the way mental health services are provided for young people.

He said: "This is a real game changer.

"We are giving people more choice and we are giving them help closer to home, that is already in their communities.

"It will provide a range of treatment and engagement opportunities for young people that are easy to access and will help build resilience and good mental health.

"We do not want them to be stuck waiting for weeks for help when they could be getting involved with therapies that are happening at RAW, for instance, and all the amazing work they do in their workshop."

There are 157,000 young people in Oxfordshire and one in 10 will suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder.

Currently the trust is supporting 4,900 young people in the county, but it estimates there could be as many as 8,000 who need help.

In the past four years the number of children the trust has provided a mental health service for has increased by 32 per cent.

Dr Wendy Woodhouse, clinical director for children and young people at the trust, said: "The current model we had just could not cope with the demand, so we needed something completely differently to tackle it.

"As well as offering young people more channels of support, we will also be up-skilling staff in the third sector organisations.

"It is a two-way street, where the third sector will benefit from clinical expertise from the trust.

"Of course without them, we would not be able to offer this new service to young people.

"It is a win-win for everyone."

A new member of staff will be employed in each of the third sector partners and they will work with the trust to provide the new service.

Third sector parties currently signed up to the service are Barnardo's, Autism Family Support, SOFEA, TRAX, Synolos and Banbury Youth Homeless Project.

Young people currently wait up to 12 weeks for help from the trust but it is hoped that the new partnership will reduce the wait to two weeks by 2020.