Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Southampton
The role of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) West is to provide a comprehensive specialist mental health service to children and young people aged 5-18 years and who are registered with a Southampton City GP. We are here to help children and young people who are struggling with their emotional and mental health including eating disorders and whose difficulties are having a significant impact on their ability to participate in daily activities or keep themselves safe. For further information please visit the Healthier Together Website
Our team is available 9-5 Monday to Friday. If your call to us isn’t urgent then you are able to leave a message which will be picked up the next working day. If you are calling outside of these hours and needing urgent mental health support then please call 111 or visit NHS 111 to speak to the Mental Health Triage Service. They are available 24hours a day, 7 days a week for anyone living in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
How has the Coronavirus outbreak affected my appointment?
The majority of appointments for initial assessments are being offered as face to face appointments. We are keen to develop strong relationships with young people and their families who require our service and recognise that there is a small risk this is compromised by our first meeting being through a digital platform. Whilst still needing to accommodate the need for large rooms to maintain social distancing and self-isolation as it arises it is not yet possible to offer every assessment as a face to face one. Where it is not possible we will get in touch with you to arrange an alternative way of carrying out the appointment.
All first appointments with a Psychiatrist in our team will be face to face. New appointments with Psychiatrists in our team can be for a number of reasons but the most common reasons are for consideration of the use of medication or more detailed assessment of a young person’s mental health. Both of which reasons are able to be more easily facilitated in a face to face appointment.
Unless there are specific risks follow up appointments and reviews will be face to face and via our digital platform Visionable or telephone. This is to enable the service to make best use of the larger clinical rooms we have available so that appointments which are needing to be conducted via face to face can be done in accordance with the right social distancing measures and also to ensure that we are doing our part within the wider NHS efforts to ensure that face to face contact is minimised.
Can I still contact the service?
Yes, please do – we are keen to hear from you. You can contact us on our direct dial number, 023 8103 0061, or our team email address, SNHS.CAMHSWEST@nhs.net
In addition we continue to work closely with Re:Minds (www.reminds.org.uk) and are available to parents/carers via that support group for pop up sessions related to mental health alongside general question and answer sessions. Please sign up to Re:Minds on their Facebook page to get details of the zoom meetings.
I am on your waiting list. How do I find out how long I have to wait?
We have been working to make contact with each young person and family currently waiting in order to review your needs and ensure that you know how to contact us during this time. What we ask of you to assist us in making the best decisions about our service delivery is that you keep us informed of any urgent changes in your child/young person’s mental health so that we can assess accordingly with you. Such examples may include increasing risk of harm to self or others, a reporting of any unusual symptoms such as reporting being able to hear or see things that others can’t and/or a change in eating habits with food intake being restricted coupled with weight loss and/or excessive exercise. You can contact the team on 023 8103 0061.
Referral criteria
Please see our full referral criteria and referral form for further information.
Contact Information
02381 030061
The Horizon Centre, William Macleod Way
Southampton
SO16 4XE
Opening hours
- Monday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
- Tuesday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
- Wednesday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
- Thursday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
- Friday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Mental health Support Teams In Schools
The Mental Health Support Team Programme, funded by NHS England is an exciting new service aiming to develop and deliver a collaborative, system-wide approach to support the mental health of children in the school and college setting. Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) complement existing support provided in schools and colleges by providing a realm of expertise and resources to deliver quicker support and intervention to individuals who may not typically meet the CAMHS thresholds, but would benefit from accessing early support.
Southampton Mental Health Support Team will provide early intervention and prevention work around some mild and mild-moderate mental health and emotional wellbeing issues, as well as helping staff within a school or college setting to provide a ‘whole school approach’ to mental health and wellbeing.
Full address of service
Southampton MHST Team
Adelaide Health Care Centre
William Macleod Way
Southampton
Hampshire
SO16 4XE
Telephone number
0300 123 6661
Email address
Southampton MHST@Solent.nhs.uk