CAMHS Crisis and Intensive Home Treatment Team

Your child will always be given the option to be seen alone. Some young people can find it difficult to speak openly about risks and what they are struggling with, as they may worry about how this will affect their parents/carers.

Following a crisis assessment we work with young people for up to 72 hours, we then make decision about the next most appropriate service needed for your child. If a young person is referred to the intensive home treatment team, this support can be up to 12 weeks. Young people do not always need 12 weeks and cases are looked at individually to determine what support the young person is requiring.

The team will work closely with a young person and their family, to ensure that we review and reduce risks as far as possible. We will assess your child and plan the most suitable support. If a young person’s risk can not be managed safely in the community. We will work closely with our colleagues in psychiatry and the inpatient unit if we felt an admission may be needed to manage this risk. Most of our young people being supported by CAMHS Crisis and Intensive Home Treatment Service do not need to be admitted to an inpatient setting, and we work collaboratively with young people and their care givers to treat young people at home and follow the least restrictive practice.

Young people will not always be seen by a Psychiatrist if they are involved with the service or be prescribed medication. The teams will regularly discuss each case with a psychiatrist as part of our multi-disciplinary team meetings, and will discuss any plans regarding medication or treatment with the young person and parent/carer.

When there is any concerns about a child’s welfare and safety within the home and it feels unsafe for the child, the practitioner involved will make what we call a safeguarding referral. This referral will be looked at by the safeguarding team and a decision will be made by social care about what they will need to do to ensure the child is safe. Any concerns will be discussed with the family to gain consent for the referral, if this will not place the child under further harm.

When the team receive a call, they will first complete a triage to work out what your child's current need is. Not all phone calls will result in a visit, but we will assess each call on an individual basis.

Each case is looked at individually regarding age, circumstances and risk. Staff will try to actively engage with the young person to assess the situation and capacity at the time and will make the decision depending on this.

Routes to safety are discussed with parents/carers including how they can keep their child safe whilst waiting for help. At times this could involve making the home as safe as possible, ringing the police and 999 services if risk is imminent. The Social Services Emergency Duty Team can also be contacted if families are needing more urgent social care support or advice about their situation.