A NEW out-of-hours service for children in crisis has been launched across Bournemouth and Poole.

Trained social workers have been employed to provide support to youngsters outside of normal office hours with demand for mental health support more than doubling over the last decade.

The new service replaces the “dated” and “increasingly unfit” Poole-based joint adults and children’s operation which had been run in conjunction with Dorset County Council.

Following a review last year, the councils decided to split the two elements of the service in a bid to improve the support it offers.

While the county council agreed to continue working in partnership with Bournemouth and Poole in the adult’s service, it withdrew from the children’s operation.

At the beginning of the month, Bournemouth and Poole’s new dedicated children’s service was launched, making a team of social workers available around the clock.

In a report to Bournemouth council’s children’s scrutiny committee, project manager, Rachel Gravett, said: “Although the out-of-hours service has operated for many years to support adults and children in crisis, and integrated the work of the three local authorities, the model has become dated and increasingly unfit for the future as the needs of those it served have become more specialised and complex and the demands on out-of-hours grown.

She added that the service had seen the number of mental health assessments it was required to carry out outside of office hours more than double over the last 10 years.

“This increase in volume resulted in less capacity being available to respond to other types of call, in particular children and young people,” she added.

“Although the response had been adequate, it had become more telephone-based in recent years with less capacity to undertake visits.”

The report adds that the decision of the county council to withdraw from the service had resulted in costs increasing.

A budget of £226,000 has been allocated for the new service – more than double the existing cost – which is split 50/50 between Bournemouth and Poole councils.

The service will be absorbed by the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council from April and will be extended to provide support across Christchurch.