Kay Lawn Appointed as Head of Operations for Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Kay Lawn as the new Head of Operations for our Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service (CYPMHS). Kay brings a wealth of experience and dedication to this critical role, having served as a registered mental health nurse for 26 years, with a significant focus on children and young people services over the past 21 years.

About Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services at the Trust

Many young people experience challenging times while growing up, which can include emotional and behavioural problems stemming from mental health conditions. These young individuals are typically referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Most are seen as outpatients by community CAMHS teams, but those with more severe issues requiring intensive support may be referred to specialist teams or units like ours.

Kay’s journey and vision

Kay has held various roles throughout her career, including Assistant Ward Manager, Ward Manager, and most recently, Operations Manager at Mill Lodge inpatient children and adolescent mental health service in York. She played a pivotal role in developing the new day service provision, Willow View, which opened in April 2024. This service was designed to offer a step-up, step-down approach to care, allowing young people to have shorter stays while staying closer to home and maintaining their normal routines.

Kay expressed her enthusiasm for her new role, stating, “I am extremely excited for the opportunity to undertake this role. It will no doubt be a big challenge, but I am eager to get started and work with the teams in children and young people services as well as other colleagues within the Trust. My aspirations for the role are to support the development of all teams to reach their full potential to deliver high-quality care to the young people who access our services. I will initially focus a lot of attention on building relationships with frontline staff as well as key partners across the patch. I want to spend time focusing on areas where improvements are needed; concentrating on what young people and their families need and delivering on this.”

Leadership endorsement

Joanna Forster Adams, our Chief Operating Officer and Accountable Emergency Officer, shared her excitement about Kay’s appointment: “I am delighted to announce that Kay has been appointed as Head of Operations for our Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services. Kay is an experienced Manager and Nurse with a background in children and young people mental health services. She has successfully steered and led our Mill Lodge Service in York for many years and is a passionate advocate for the high-quality care and support of children, young people, families, and their supporting networks.

Kay is well known and highly respected across the Trust, and with partners, bringing a wealth of experience to colleagues in Red Kite View and in the Deaf CAMHS Service across the region. She starts with immediate effect after stepping into the breach when our colleague Nick Mant left the organisation to take up the role of Senior Commissioning and Transformation Manager in Wakefield District Health and Care Partnership. We wish Nick every success in his new role and thank him for all his work across West Yorkshire, York, and the northern region whilst working with us.”

We look forward to the positive impact Kay will bring to our services and the continued excellence in care for our young people and their families.

Page last updated: 7th Apr 2025 10:41am