South London Forensic CAMHS

You can contact us if you are from a community mental health team or any other service that works with young people under 18 and their families - such as youth offending teams and social care.

Ask us if you have questions about a young person’s mental health or neurodevelopmental difficulties including mild or moderate learning disability and autism who present with high risk.

We also provide consultation and assessment of complex young people if secure inpatient admission is being considered.

The mainstay of our service is consultation; however, our input depends on several factors including the degree of need or risk and what local services are available.

If we provide assessment or treatment, we expect the young person to be open to their local Tier 3 CAMHS, and that local CAMHS would coordinate care and provide risk management and emergency care planning.

Our opening hours

Monday - Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm

If we work directly with a young person or family, they will see a trained mental health professional with specialist forensic expertise such as an adolescent forensic psychiatrist or psychologist.

If we provide assessment or treatment, we expect the young person to be open to their local Tier 3 CAMHS, and that local CAMHS would coordinate care and provide risk management and emergency care planning.

We provide:

• Telephone advice
• Consultation with local mental health teams and other services that work with young people and their families (such as YOT, social care)
• Expert guidance of local assessments and interventions
• In some cases, forensic assessments and time-limited interventions

A member of FCAMHS will have a short initial discussion with you - either face-to-face or by phone. This discussion will either lead to:

• agreement that brief advice such as signposting or helping access to more appropriate services has met your goals.

• you being asked to complete a referral form for a formal consultation and/or assessment, and to forward background documents from involved agencies.

Consultation and assessment

We provide a consultation with the local professional network, and in some cases, will guide local assessment or conduct a forensic assessment.

Assessment and consultation will be informed by the goals, expectations and hopes of the referrer and the young person and their family.

We also consider the knowledge and expertise of local professionals, the relevant evidence base, local, regional and national resources, and attend to safety.

Our agreed plans aim to contribute to positive outcomes for the young person and their family.

We will summarise a formal consultation and assessment in writing, and include the agreed plan with clear roles and responsibilities.

Michael Rutter Centre

Maudsley Hospital

De Crespigny Park

Denmark Hill

London

SE5 8AZ

Tel: 020 3228 8863

Email: SouthLondonFCAMHS@slam.nhs.uk

Consultations and assessments will occur at an agreed place which is most accessible to the local professional network and young people and their families.

Referrals are accepted from:

• ·         CAMHS Tier 3 and Tier 2 services
• ·         Local Authorities (Children’s Social Care)
• ·         Youth Offending Teams
• ·         CAMHS Inpatient Facilities
• ·         Youth Justice services
• ·         Education

If the referrer is not from a local CAMHS team, and the referral is accepted for further input, we will discuss the referral with the young person’s local CAMHS team.

We facilitate a joint approach to the referral from relevant mental health providers including, when possible, joint assessment and working.