GIRFT has appointed a second clinical lead to its workstream for children and young people’s mental health (CYPMH) services, focusing on the delivery of neurodevelopmental services.
Dr Holan Liang – an honorary consultant paediatric neuropsychiatrist at North East London Foundation NHS Trust (NELFT) and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and senior clinical research associate at the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University – has a special interest in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, Tourette syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and intellectual disability.
She will lead GIRFT’s work to review CYP neurodevelopmental services in England and reduce variation to help ensure more high quality and efficient care, with a particular focus on driving significant improvements in waiting times and access to CYP neurodevelopmental services.
She is appointed as a co-lead for the CYPMH workstream, working alongside Dr Johnny Downs.
"I’m delighted to be joining the GIRFT team, looking at how providers organise their neurodevelopmental services, what’s working well and where the challenges are. I look forward to improving the data gathering in this area and then using that knowledge to drive down waiting times for young people.”
Dr Liang is a former psychiatry lead of the national specialist tic service at Great Ormond Street Hospital and has over 15 years’ experience in specialist child and adolescent psychiatry neurodevelopmental services. Her current research relates to autism in paediatric hospital settings.
GIRFT’s work to review CYPMH services began in 2018 and saw a clinically led team visiting all provider collaborative groups in England, including NHS trusts and independent sector organisations. The resulting GIRFT national report for CYPMH services was shared in 2022, outlining the provision of care across England for CYP (aged 13-18) with defined mental health needs, such as psychosis, eating disorders and personality disorders, as well as services for CYP with neuro-disabilities such as autism and/or learning disabilities.
"The GIRFT national report in 2022 demonstrated the importance of mental health services for children and young people today, in particular highlighting that pathways for young people with neurodevelopmental disorders must work across physical and mental health organisations in a seamless and effective way. I am delighted to welcome Holan to our GIRFT team to focus on this important area; her in-depth knowledge of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, ADHD and Tourette syndrome will undoubtedly help to ensure that young people are receiving high quality care, where they need it and in a timely way.”
