-
The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Emergency Care Service (CECS) is a team of specialist nurses and doctors who work with young people experiencing a mental health crisis and their families/carers.
- Base: Springfield University Hospital
- Service Type: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
- Service Contact: CAMHSEmergencycare@swlstg.nhs.uk
- Service Category: Community
- Disabled access: Yes
- Address: Shaftesbury Building, Springfield University Hospital, 9 Springfield Drive, London, SW17 0YF
- Reception hours: Monday to Friday, 9am-8pm
- Reception phone number: 07870 917 114 or 020 3513 6239
About our care
The CAMHS Emergency Care Service is a nurse and consultant led team of clinical nurse specialists who:
- Provide psychosocial and risk assessments for all young people up to age 18 presenting with an acute mental health crisis at Kingston, St George’s and St Helier Hospitals. This will be informed by information from other agencies including social care and education.
- Collaboratively develop safety and management plans with young people and their families/carers as part of in-depth biopsychosocial assessment.
- Provide consultation and advice to paediatric wards with respect to management of complex cases.
- Offer a follow up appointment/risk review within seven days for young people who are registered with a GP in Wandsworth, Sutton, Kingston, Richmond or Merton, and who are not currently open to Tier 3 CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health services).
- Offer a follow up appointment within seven days for young people who are not registered with a local GP but are a resident of Wandsworth, Sutton, Kingston, Richmond or Merton.
- Coordinate the care of young people from assessment to discharge from the service, including liaising with social care, education, Tier 3 CAMHS and other services when further assessment, treatment or support is likely to be helpful.
Who is this service for?
This is not a liaison service and as such there needs to be an acute concern about a young person’s mental health or risk for example:
- an episode of deliberate self-harm
- suicidal thoughts or suicide attempt
- acute onset of psychosis
- acute deterioration in mental health.
This list is not exhaustive, and the service encourages hospital professionals to make contact to discuss any child whom they have concerns about their mental health or emotional wellbeing, before making a referral.
The team will review all information shared before making a decision on the appropriateness of the referral. Referral decisions will be given following a triage and communicated by phone and in writing by email.
Referrals and access
Referrals are received via the A&E departments and acute paediatric wards at St George's, St Helier and Kingston Hospitals.
