Getting risk support (highly specialist services)
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Support for for children and young people who remain a significant concern and risk despite extensive input.
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust National and Specialist CAMHS Outpatients services
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) operate a number of national and specialist CAMHS outpatients’ services which work closely together, and refer between each other, to support children and young people with complex or high risk needs.
For a full list of SLaM national and specialist CAMHS outpatient teams, please see https://slam.nhs.uk/specialist-outpatient-camhs. They include:
Service for Complex Autism and Associated Neurodevelopmental Disorders – SCAAND (Outpatients). A multi-disciplinary service providing assessment and intervention/management of complex neurodevelopmental presentations. Some of the key pathways include:
- Assessment and specialist intervention pathways for children and young people with established or possible ASD who present with co-occurring neurodevelopmental and/or mental health (for example, emotional and behavioural) disorders.
- Mental health in intellectual disability: Assessment and intervention for young people with recognised intellectual disabilities (also referred to as learning disabilities or global developmental delay), and associated behavioural or mental health problems
- Sensory assessment and intervention pathway
- Prader Willi Service
- Support for other complex neurodevelopmental presentations, including complex ADHD presentations, challenging behaviours and psychiatric complications of neurological conditions and genetic disorders.
Autism and Intellectual Disability Intensive Intervention Team – AID-IIT (Outreach): Aims to reduce or prevent where possible inpatient CAMHS admissions for children and young people with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism. They offer assessment, consultation, intervention, advice and support to services, families, and young people to try to best meet the needs of young people in the community with Intellectual Disabilities, Autism and complex mental health needs including challenging behaviour.
Who they see:
- Open to children and young people below 18 years of age.
- Must be known to local CAMHS or child health service who support the referral.
- Known or possible diagnosis relating to the service’s specialism.
Contact them:
Click here to visit the SCAAND website
Email SCAAND: [email protected]
Click here to visit the AID-IIT website
Email AID-IIT: [email protected]
Click here for all SLaM Specialist Outpatient CAMHS services
CAMHS Urgent Care Team (UCT)
The CAMHS Urgent Care Team works in conjunction with local hospitals and existing local CAMHS services to provide access for children and young people up to the age of 18 to a dedicated crisis and liaison service when they are experiencing an acute mental health or emotional crisis.
The CAMHS UCT see people that attend A&E due to mental health-related crisis. Reasons for urgent referral include:
- Following an overdose
- Following an incident of self-harm, or for treatment of self-harm
- Acute anxiety
- A dramatic and unexplained change in mood or behaviour
- Intrusive, unwanted thoughts or images to harm others
- Intrusive, unwanted thoughts or images to harm self
They can also offer consultation on cases in which it may not be immediately clear what the presenting concerns and risks are to ensure that the safeguarding needs of children and young people are paramount.
The Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster UCT is based out of St Mary’s and Chelsea and Westminster hospitals, and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Who they see:
- Children and young people up to the age of 18
- Attending A&E due to any risk to self or others, related to mental health difficulties.
Contact them:
Click here to visit the service’s web page
The Urgent Care Team accepts referrals from A&E and Community CAMHS only.
The Inpatient Admission Process
Where inpatient admission is indicated for a Kensington & Chelsea or Westminster young person, the North West London Provider Collaborative undertakes bed searches which first draw on the local units of Lavender Walk, Priory North London, Crystal House and Collingham.
Searches are next expanded to London beds in other areas managed by the South London Partnership or North Central and East London Provider Collaboratives, then, if necessary, to a national search. If possible and most appropriate to their care, young people are transferred to a local bed if a suitable one becomes available after being placed out of area.
There are no Psychiatric Intensive Care Units in the local North West London area, though there are PICU beds in other London areas and Lavender Walk may be able to cover depending on individual risk.
Low Secure Unit and Medium Secure Unit beds are managed through a national network, and none are currently located in the London area.
North West London CYP Mental Health Inpatient Units
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Lavender Walk Adolescent Mental Health Unit |
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Who they see: |
Lavender Walk offers 12 inpatient beds for people aged between 13 and 18. The unit cares for people who are experiencing severe mental health difficulties in the least restrictive environment, consistent with the need for their own safety and the safety of others. |
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Priory Hospitals: North London |
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Who they see: |
Provides child and adolescent inpatient services to the NHS for young people aged between 12 and 18 (under special circumstances, from the age of 10). Young people can be admitted on a formal (sectioned) or informal (voluntary) basis. |
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Crystal House, The Kingswood Centre |
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Who they see:
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Crystal House is a five-bed specialist inpatient unit for young people (aged 13 to 18 years) with a learning disability and mental health need. The service assesses and treats young people with a learning disability, challenging behaviour and/or mental health difficulties and/or autism. |
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Collingham Child and Family Centre |
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Who they see: |
The Collingham Centre is a service for children between age five and 13 with complex mental health problems, and their families. It provides intensive assessment and treatment for children with complex emotional, behavioural and psychological difficulties. It also offers intensive work with families/parents and carers to develop their parenting skills. |
Other London CYP Mental Health Inpatient Units
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Bethlem Royal Hospital Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit |
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Who they see: |
The CAMHS Adolescent Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is an 8-bedded mixed-sex unit providing short, focused admissions for young people between the ages of 12 to 18 years old, with an acute mental health illness who cannot be safely cared for on a general adolescent unit. All of the young people admitted to the unit will be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. |
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Bethlem Adolescent Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital |
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Who they see: |
Open to young people from 12 to 18 years of age, with mental illness or suspected mental illness that cannot be safely managed by outpatient services. The unit is also able to admit young people with a variety of other psychiatric or neurodevelopmental disorders. |
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Snowsfields Adolescent Unit, Maudsley Hospital |
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Who they see: |
An open adolescent inpatient unit, offering mental health care young people from 12 to 18 years of age, with mental illness or suspected mental illness that cannot be safely managed by outpatient services. The unit is also able to admit young people with a variety of other psychiatric or neurodevelopmental disorders. |
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Ellern Mede Ridgeway |
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Who they see:
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A 28 bed hospital offering inpatient treatment for children and young people aged eight to18 years with an eating disorder condition, with or without co-morbidities.
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Simmons House Adolescent Unit |
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Who they see: |
A 12 bed in-patient psychiatric unit for young people between 13 and 18 years of age. Referrals to Simmons House can only be made by a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. |
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Brookside Child and Adolescent Inpatient Unit |
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Who they see: |
Open to young people between 12 and 17 who are experiencing an acute mental health crisis, and whose presentation is complex requiring a period inpatient treatment. Non-North East London NHS Foundation Trust referrals are via A&E services or Tier 3 CAMHS only. |
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Coborn Centre |
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Who they see: |
An inpatient service for young people between 12 and 18 years old. The unit has 12 acute beds and 16 psychiatric intensive care beds. Referrals are made via community CAMHS teams. |
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The Beacon Centre |
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Who they see: |
A 12 bed general adolescent inpatient unit for people aged 13 and up to their 18th birthday, who are developmentally post pubertal and who are experiencing a mental health illness as their primary diagnosis. |
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Aquarius Ward, Springfield University Hospital |
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Who they see: |
A 12 bed mixed gendered inpatient service for young people aged 12-18 experiencing a mental health crisis, requiring short term crisis intervention in hospital. Referrals are accepted from Tier 3 and Tier 4 CAMHS services. |
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Mildred Creak Unit, Great Ormond Street Hospital |
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Who they see: |
An intensive intervention 10 place (seven inpatient and three day places) unit admitting children from 7 to 14 years of age with a range of mental health problems such as eating disorders, somatising disorders and other emotional and behavioural disorders. |