Next steps for Tier 4 Deaf CAMHS
Watch our YouTube video for a BSL version of this message.
South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust’s Corner House ward has, for many years, offered a unique and valued service – expert inpatient mental health care for Deaf children and young people from across the country. The contribution this service has made to the Deaf community, to the NHS, and to families in need of specialist care has been significant.
Our Trust, like many others across the country, is increasingly focused on supporting children and young people closer to home and avoiding hospital admissions wherever possible. This is part of the Government’s 10-year plan, and the shift is also reflected in the way Corner House is currently being used.
In recent years, we have seen low referral numbers to the inpatient service. At times, this has resulted in Deaf young people being cared for alone, often far from their families and communities. This can limit the important social and peer interaction that is such a valuable part of inpatient care. By contrast, our specialist Deaf mental health community team that operates across South East England – which provides support to Deaf people closer to home – receives around 200 referrals a year.
In 2023, we adapted our inpatient model in an effort to better meet the needs of the Deaf community. Despite these changes, we have not seen a corresponding increase in access or referrals.
We are actively contributing to NHS England’s review of Tier 4 CAMHS services, with the Deaf community, NHS colleagues, and other stakeholders. Through this, we are sharing our view that we need to reshape Deaf CAMHS to make it more accessible, more effective, and more sustainable for the future. Our clinical view is that this should include shifting our focus toward enhanced outreach and community-based care, rather than continuing to provide a national inpatient service with limited uptake. We believe that this will help ensure we are using our expertise where it can have the greatest impact.
A number of options are being tested through engagement with Deaf young people, families, clinicians, and community representatives. The review team have sent out a questionnaire about these options that you can input to (links below).
Future Support for Deaf Children and Young People
- Parent/carer survey: : https://forms.office.com/e/eczbs9dcr5
- Deaf young person survey: https://forms.office.com/e/rhJ70Y0TtY
- Professionals/referrers survey: https://forms.office.com/e/xMT9wqZYtK
- National Deaf CAMHS survey: https://feedback.swlstg.nhs.uk/form/6329b6b44517a6236f206f37
Over the years, our partners, staff, and the Deaf community have worked so hard to develop and deliver this service – it’s important that the service continues to evolve and go from strength to strength.
Thank you for your ongoing support and collaboration as we look to the future of specialist Deaf CAMHS.
