Community CAMHS services offers a full range of services for children and young people (up to their 18th birthday) experiencing mental health problems and mental disorders.

The services provided by specialist CAMH professionals will support early identification and early intervention services.  They provide support to Children’s Workforce practitioners and act as a bridge between the different parts of the mental health service.

Services will also provide for children/young people with more severe, complex, or persistent disorders.  They are delivered from multi-disciplinary systems/teams.

Aims of the service

• To improve and enhance the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people who are experiencing emotional and mental distress and ill health.
• To provide high quality, comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, and multi-modal specialist child mental health provision to the children and families of Tees and support seamless transition to adult services.
• To provide effective, outcome focused services that put the needs of children, young people and their families and carers at the centre of their care and are delivered as part of an integrated model of multi-agency service provision.

What to expect after a referral

A letter will be sent out to parents informing them of the date and time of their child/young person’s appointment, and who they are coming to see. If the young person is over 16 years of age they will receive their own letter. Whoever is attending the appointment may wish to bring a friend or family member with them for support.

With this letter there will be some extra paperwork – please make sure this is filled in and brought to the first appointment.

At the first appointment (which may be from 30mins - up to 1 hour) questions will be asked to gain information to make an informed decision as to whether CAMHS is the correct service to help a child/young person and their family or progress to specialist CAMHS assessment and input.   

An Access to Service assessment and an initial assessment – are both an assessment based on the same questions and information, but differing lengths of time and in different detail.  The purpose of which have different outcomes.

An Access to Service are for the majority of children/young people where a mental health expert will meet with the individual referred and their family, to make an informed decision as to what is the appropriate input required (ie specialist CAMHS or another service).  If specialist CAMHS is indicated then they will be invited back for an initial assessment.

An initial assessment is where someone requires specialist CAMHS following and Access to Service assessment or where a more in depth assessment is indicated directly from referral information received.

On your letter it may say:
‘Screening for diagnosis’ – this refers to the collection of preliminary information/presentations from different sources (ie observing a child at home, in school etc) which are then discussed in a multi-agency team to make an informed decision as to whether a more specialist assessment is required (ie ASD, ADHD).

‘Pathways’ - this is the language used for a tool that is based on evidence-based practice for a specific group of patients with a predictable clinical course, in which the different tasks (interventions) by the professionals involved in the patient care are defined.

Transitions from CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) to adult services

From the age of 17.5 years each young person who is under CAMHS will gradually move to the adult services. This should be a smooth, seamless process.

Within Tees, Esk and Wear Valley’s NHS trust (they provide the service) there is a transitions protocol and a care pathway to facilitate the transition of care from CAMHS for young people who are likely to need transfer of inpatient or outpatient care at 18 years old.

Each young person will have a transition plan which they and their lead professional will write.

If you have concerns on how this could affect you or someone you know, speak to your consultant at your next meeting.

We are located at:

Middlesbrough CAMHS & LD CAMHS, Rosewood Centre, West Lane Hospital, Middlesbrough

Eating Disorder Community Team, The Glades, West Lane Hospital, Middlesbrough

Redcar CAMHS & LD CAMHS, The Ridings, Milbank Terrace, Redcar

Mental Health - Crisis/Intensive Home Treatment Service

Provides a service for Children, young People and families who are experiencing an acute mental health or emotional crisis which without the involvement of the Teesside CAMHS Crisis Team may increase immediate risk and result in an acute hospital or inpatient admission

Provides a service 24 hours per day/365 days per year

Provides a rapid response, offers prompt assessment within a maximum of 4 hours of a referral being received (with an aim for 1 hour), and where appropriate, intensive time limited interventions

Children and Young People (aged 0- 18) who are experiencing an acute mental health/ emotional crisis. This will be acutely affecting their function and  without input from the crisis team may be  severe enough to increase risk of harm to self or others, family breakdown or  require a hospital admission

TELEPHONE NUMBER: 03000 132 000

Middlesbrough: option 2

Redcar: option 3

Eating Disorders: option 7

CRISIS: option 6