Letter to Patient and Families - Transfer of Community Mental Health Services
16 June 2025
Dear Patient or Family Member
Important Update About Your / Your Child’s Mental Health Services
We are writing to let you know about a change to the way children’s and young people’s community mental health services are managed in our area. You or a family member may have been receiving care from Forward Thinking Birmingham, which is managed by Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.
From 1 July, the management of these services will transfer from Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust to Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.
We want to reassure you that this change will not affect the care you or a family member receives. The way you access services will stay the same, and the staff who currently support you or your child will continue to do so. All team members involved in delivering care will transfer to Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, ensuring continuity and consistency, with the usual access to your child’s health records.
Any clinical records that Forward Thinking Birmingham and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust will have for patients that use or have used these services will be transferred as part of this change.
We understand that some people receiving this letter may no longer be using our services. While we have done our best to ensure our records are accurate, please accept our sincere apologies if this reaches you in error.
Should you have any concerns regarding the care that you receive after 1 July, these should be raised with Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. If, however, you have previously raised concerns through our PALS or Formal Complaints Department and are awaiting a formal response, then this will continue to be managed through Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at bwc.pals@nhs.net or by using the contact form. We are here to support you and ensure a smooth transition.
Last year, comments were invited on plans to improve mental health services for children and young people. Responses were received from parents, carers, young people, NHS staff, education providers, local authorities and those working in the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFE) sector. Full and summary versions of the feedback received have now been published.
Young people, parents and carers will be invited to co-produce the action plan and design the next steps in developing services based on the feedback received.
This change is part of a wider effort to strengthen and align mental health services across Birmingham and Solihull, streamlining care between child and adult services, helping us to provide even better support for children, young people, and their families.
Warm regards,
Matthew Boazman
Chief Executive