The CAMHbulance Study v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The CAMHbulance Study: How does the largest out-of-hospital emergency service in Wales receive, respond and resolve mental health crises involving young people?
IRAS ID
346969
Contact name
Stephen John McKenna Lawson
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
In the UK, as many as one in five children and young people (CYP) aged between 8-25 live with a mental health (MH) problem. According to the Welsh parliament, population-level information on the MH of CYP in Wales is limited (Senedd Cymru, 2022). Available indicators within health and education appear to suggest adverse trends (Welsh Government, 2022). A high-level of need can be seen in CYP requiring crisis intervention. Between 2016 and 2020, there were almost 52,000 unique MH crisis events involving ambulance attendance, accident and emergency (A&E) visits or emergency admission recorded amongst 14–25-year-olds (Bentley et al., 2022).
Ambulance care is critical within a the context of finite resources and increasing public demand for health services. This includes demand for MH care from CYP. As a national service providing ambulance callouts, tele-health interventions and trialling response vehicles, the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) serves as a first port-of-call for people in MH crisis as well as a substitute for services unable or unavailable to intervene at the point of crisis. A 2020 national report discovered around 946 calls, attendances or referrals for mental ill-health occur daily in Wales (Mills et al., 2020). WAST responds to the most urgent of these cases, receiving over 70 calls daily related to mental health.
This study, which is funded until September 2027, is proposing to evaluate the implementation and impact of MH crisis interventions delivered by WAST as they relate specifically to children and young people (CYP) aged between 14-25.
The study is seeking participation from a variety of groups and individuals whose personal and/or professional experience offers insight into the design, delivery and impact of these interventions. This includes strategic professionals, WAST clinicians and service-users. Participants will be invited to partake in 30-50 minute interviews, with WAST clinicians also invited to complete one short survey.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/LO/0115
Date of REC Opinion
2 Apr 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion