Children and Young People's Mental Health Service (CAMHS)

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) (NHS) 

What the Services Does: CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. CAMHS sits within NHS Lothian and provides specialist assessment/intervention as part of a tiered system, which can include consultation and advice prior to referral. An assessment appointment with a child/young person establishes clinical need and priority status. These services work with children and young people and their families whose mental health needs are assessed as meeting criteria for Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 support. Children and young people can be referred to CAMHS if there are significant concerns about their mental health or wellbeing and when their difficulties are impacting upon their day to day functioning. CAMHS will see a variety of presentations including but not exhaustively eating disorder, suicidal ideation, psychosis, OCD, mood disorders, anxiety, trauma, phobias. CAMHS also provides Neurodevelopmental Assessment in collaboration with the Single Point of Access Teams.  More information on the Tier System can be found here Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services – NHS Lothian | Our Services

Age Range: From age 5 - 18 years

How to Access:  Referrals can be made by GPs or by other professionals by completing a Request for Assistance form. This can be found at the bottom of this screen and then sent to CAMHSEastLothianReferrals@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk

A referral should be submitted directly to CAMHS for concerns involving:

• Children and young people who have already been well known to CAMHS, or who you think may still be an open case.

• Eating disorder.

• Concern about risk of suicide or serious self-harm.

• Any very unusual or worrying behaviours.

• Sexual abuse and other serious trauma

Consultation Service: CAMHS operate a consultation service for anyone working with children and young people, available Monday to Friday 12.30 - 13:30 on 07580 788 090. If the line is busy, please leave a message and a member of the team will get back to you. This provides an opportunity to discuss with a member of the CAMHS team any aspect of work with a child/young person or family where an emotional, behavioural or mental health concern may be present. Children and young people who are currently being seen by CAMHS should not be presented and instead discussed directly with the relevant worker. Consent must be obtained from the parent, and young person if over 12 years of age.

Contact Details: Tel: 0131 446 4880/4872 Email: CAMHSEastLothianReferrals@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk

Website: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services – NHS Lothian | Our Services

CAMHS Intellectual Disability (CAMHS ID) Service (NHS)

What the Service Does: CAMHS intellectual disability team work with children and young people (0 - 18 years) who have significant developmental delay or an intellectual disability (with or without autism) and who have mental health or complex behavioural problems. Children and young people can be referred to the CAMHS ID Team if they present with challenging behaviours e.g. significant self-injury, harm to others, hyperactivity disorders, autism spectrum disorders, behavioural problems that indicate mental health problems, depression, and psychosis. This list is not exhaustive. They provide assessment and intervention to these children and young people. They also work closely with and support families and carers. They also offer an Early Years Service and an Intensive Treatment Service. 

Age Range: From age 0 - 18 years

How to Access:  Referrals can be made by health professionals in writing to CAMHS ID Team, St Roque, Astley Ainslie Hospital, 133 Grange Loan, EH9 2HL. There is a general enquires line to arrange consultation or discuss potential referral.

Contact Details:  Tel: 0131 537 9589