Wandsworth

Wandsworth CAMHS offers a range of treatments and assessments for children and young people aged 5 - 18 who are experiencing moderate to severe mental health problems. Where appropriate, a combination of approaches is used in line with the young person's needs and as agreed with the family through care planning.

A combination of evidence based interventions are delivered in line with the young person's needs and as agreed with the family, through care planning. Interventions are time-limited, targeted and goal-focussed. Treatment progress is reviewed regularly, and we aim to facilitate smooth transition and step-down and discharge from the service. We will likely ask you to complete some questionnaires at assessment so we can measure progress towards your therapy goals.

We assess moderate to severe mental health needs and offer formulation and diagnosis and recommendations for treatment. We also offer risk assessment and risk management, to support children and young people to maintain safety and optimal functioning.

Interventions offered include (though are not limited to):

• Individual Psychological talking therapies such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)
• Systemic (Family) Therapy (SFT)
• Pharmacotherapy (medication) with advice and monitoring
• Parenting work around the child's needs
• Consultations and network meetings with other professionals
• Risk management and support with transition to adult services
• Integrative approaches

Dependent on the needs and circumstances and preference of the young person, we are able to offer interventions either face-to-face, online, via telephone, or a combination of these (where this is possible given the intervention and risk level).

In order to reduce waiting times and avoid wasted appointments, we do request that notice is provided more than 24 hours in advance if you are unable to attend an appointment. Two missed or cancelled appointments may result in a new referral to the service being required.

All referrals are received by an assessment team called the Single Point of Access (SPA). Referrals to Wandsworth CAMHS are currently accepted from professionals such as GP's, teachers, social workers, school nurses or any other health or educational professional, if they feel there is a need for the CAMHS services.

GPs will be able to access the new CAMHS referral form and are required to continue to submit referrals to CAMHS SPA via the Electronic Referral Service (e-RS). For any queries and information about existing referrals, you can also directly contact the Wandsworth CAMHS SPA via 020 3513 6631 or wandsworthcamhsreferrals@swlstg.nhs.uk. Please complete all the Essential Information section of the CAMHS form and ideally complete as much of the Desirable Information section that you can.

Referrals to our SPA Team can be made by emailing wandsworthcamhsreferrals@swlstg.nhs.uk. SPA staff can advise further on what information is useful for a referral, timescale for being seen and support which might be available pending the first appointment.

If you are 16 or over, you can also self-refer by emailing us and requesting the self-referral form and sending this back to the above email address.

Professional or parent Referral Form          GP referral form           Guidance to referrers

What does SPA do:

The SPA team views all referrals (daily where possible) and offers an initial phone call to consider next steps. In some cases, a further face-to-face, extended telephone or online assessment is offered to determine the most appropriate service to address the young person's needs.

The SPA team will also send questionnaires about the young person in order for the team to gain more insight into the young person's challenges.

When the SPA team have carried out the initial screening and assessment, the young person will be offered a relevant intervention option or signposted to the most useful service (which may include local borough and voluntary sector services).

We are closely linked with the CAMHS Emergency Care Service, who assess young people presenting in crisis at A&E, and may provide follow-up as required. 

Referrals for children presenting for assessment of Neurodevelopmental difficulties (ASD / ADHD) will be screened initially in SPA. If threshold for diagnosis is met and reflected in the screening measures, you will be referred to the dedicated service for Neurodevelopmental difficulties so that a more comprehensive assessment and diagnosis can be undertaken.

Referrals for children presenting with Eating Disorders (Anorexia and Bulimia) will be screened initially in SPA. If threshold for diagnosis is met, a referral to the Trust's dedicated service will follow, so that a more comprehensive assessment and treatment  can be undertaken.