The Single Point of Access is the referral route to access the following services:

·         Mental Health and Wellbeing Services 

·         Neurodevelopmental Pathway

·         Early Years Education Resource Group

Referral to the Single Point of Access is by way of a Request for Assistance form (RfA) which is embedded below. 

Please note that signed consent is required from the young person, parent or carer. Young people aged 12 years and over can consent themselves but wherever possible it is generally beneficial for their family to be involved and aware of the referral. Where appropriate, consent can be given verbally as long as this is recorded by whom and dated on the Request for Assistance form.

The person who made the Request for Assistance will then be informed of the Triage Team’s decision.

Completed RfA's should be sent to cypspa@eastlothian.gov.uk

Mental Health and Wellbeing 

Requests for Assistance are considered by a multi-agency Triage Team, which is made up of representatives from MYPAS, Education, Children’s Services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and Art Therapies. The Triage Team consider each Request for Assistance and decide on the best available option for the young person. This can include:  school counselling,  seeking additional information,  LIAM (Let’s Talk about Anxiety Management),  music / art therapy,  youth work support or referral on to alternative supports. 

An RfA to the Single Point of Access can be submitted for concerns involving:

• Anxiety

• Low mood

• Self-harm

• Suicidal thoughts (where there is no clear planning or active intent)

• Peer relationship difficulties

• Family issues (such as separation, conflict, domestic abuse, ill health)

• Bereavement reaction which appears extreme or long lasting

• School issues which are affecting mental wellbeing

• Social isolation

The Neurodevelopmental Pathway (ND Pathway) in East Lothian is the name for the series of steps that are followed when a child or young person is being assessed for one or more neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autism (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Learning/ Intellectual Disability (LD or ID), Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).

In East Lothian, there is one pathway for all the neurodevelopmental conditions above. It takes a holistic approach to the assessment of a child/ young person’s needs. This approach reduces the need for a family to explain their story repeatedly and the child/ young person is only on one waiting list, rather than multiple ones for different neurodevelopmental conditions. All referrals for assessment for these neurodevelopmental conditions come through the Single Point of Access. Referrals are screened on a weekly basis by a multi-agency team, with representatives from Education and Health.