Children's Services - Mental Health
It's not uncommon for children and young people to experience stress caused by things like bereavement or parents separating. It is rare, however, for such young people to need psychiatric help. Most of these problems resolve themselves over time with non-specialist help and support. But if they don't that's where specialist CAMHS - Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service- comes in.
CAMHS is a range of services for children and young people aged up to 18. Young people between 16 and 18 years can access CAMHS or other adult services, depending on which is felt to be more useful for their needs.
Your experience matters
We like to hear about your experience of CAMHS. It helps us continually develop what we do in order to maintain the highest standards of quality and service.
If you have used CAMHS services and are under the age of nine, click here to complete our user experience survey.
If you have used CAMHS services and are over the age of nine, click here to complete our user experience survey.
The team at CAMHS
Our teams of nurses, doctors, psychologists, occupational therapists, psychotherapists and primary mental health workers are experts in mental health disorders, and emotional and behavioural problems. We are trained in communicating with young people about how they are feeling.
How do you contact CAMHS?
Young people themselves, their parents/carers and other professionals around them may have concerns about mental well-being and think that help is needed. Initial assessments are made by family doctors (GP's), paediatricians, educational psychologists or social workers. These people can then make referrals to Specialist CAMHS. These referrals will be reviewed by an outpatient team in CAMHS. Click here to access the CAMHS referral form.
Where are we based?
There are three regionally based outpatient teams. In Leicester City this is located at Westcotes House, Leicester. In Leicestershire and Rutland, the North and South County teams are based at the Valentine Centre, on the edge of Leicester.
The county outpatient teams have venues around the county and in Rutland. These are at The Hawthorn Centre in Coalville, The Orchard Resource Centre in Hinckley, the Rutland Memorial Hospital in Oakham, St Mary's Hospital in Melton and at a CAMHS base in Loughborough Hospital.
The Learning Disability Team and the Vulnerable Young Peoples Team
There are also two other specialist outpatient teams. One is for children and young people with a moderate or severe learning disability, called the Learning Disability Team. This is based at Rothesay, on the London Road in Leicester. The other is for young people who are known to need a slightly different way of working. These are young people in the local authority care system, young people involved in the youth justice system, homeless families and adopted children. This team is called the Vulnerable Young Peoples Team and is based at Westcotes House.
Specialist CAMHS also has specific resources such as the CAMHS day resource called Tanglewood. This offers more complex assessments and treatment to children and their families. Young people who might need 24 hour care can stay at our inpatient unit called Oakham House.
We use different ways of working
CAMHS provides services to meet the needs of specific difficulties such as through the use of the Eating Disorders Team or Systemic Family Therapy Team. Also specialist therapies can be offered such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy(CBT), Psychotherapy and Groupwork. We also offer assessments for Sensory Processing difficulties, and offer advice and information to promote well-being.
Contacting CAMHS Clinicians
If you know the name of the clinician working with a child, please feel free to contact them on 0116 225 6000.
How can I know whether a situation might be appropriate for CAMHS?
Deciding what can be done for children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties can be complex. CAMHS provides support for all professionals working with children and their families through the Primary Mental Health Worker role. If CAMHS is not felt to be appropriate, other services, and the role offered by the caller can be discussed. Primary Mental Health Workers are able to provide resources, consultation, jointwork and training to professionals who are not mental health specialists.
The CAMHS Professional Advisory Service
The CAMHS Professionals Advisory Service is a telephone helpline available to all professionals to access on 0116 2955048 (open five days a week between 10.30 am and 2.00pm.)
Mural painted by 'Brightsparks', Valentine Centre, 2010
Where can Parents or Carers get Advice about what CAMHS might be able to offer?
Parents and carers are advised to first seek support from frontline professionals such as GP's, Paediatricians, Social Workers or Special Needs Teachers.
Young Minds, a national charity, offers parents/carers telephone advice via their Parent/carer Information Service on 0800 018 2138. (See also the leaflet 'Services for Children and Young People with Emotional and Behavioural difficulties'.)
What if I am not satisfied with the service I receive from CAMHS?
The Trust has a complaints procedure which parents, young people and other professionals are encouraged to be familiar with. There is also a Complaints Leaflet you can download.
More Information About CAMHS
In 2010 we published our first annual Quality Account for CAMHS, which is about the quality of the service we offer to people. The report covers our performance on quality over the last year and sets out our priorities for quality improvements in the coming year. The Quality Accounts report on such issues as: patient safety, clinical effectiveness, and patient experience.
CAMHS Quality Account 2009/10
Useful Leaflets
Links to relevant Websites