LOCAL OFFER
Covid-19 Pandemic – guidance for patients and families
In the wake of unprecedented disruption in our services due to the Covid-19 related restrictions recommended by government, we would like to assure you Croydon CAMHS are doing all they can to maintain safety and continuity of care. This requires significant adjustments in our work and a focus on urgent care.
Keeping you updated
We would like to keep you updated with any further changes in our service via email. If you would like email contact from CAMHS, please send a message to us via this email address: croydoncamhsmail@slam.nhs.uk and include:
- your child’s name
- your child’s date of birth
You will then be added to our email communications list.
Urgent mental health support
If your child is already known to our service, and has an urgent mental health crisis, we would like to hear from you. We also welcome contact directly from our young people if they are in crisis. This is how you can seek help from CAMHS:
- You can speak to our duty clinician between 9 and 5pm (0203 2280000). You and the duty clinician can discuss what the best course of action might be and whether you need to access emergency services and the Croydon CAMHS Crisis Team.
- Please contact our CAMHS crisis line 0203 228 5980, Monday - Friday 5pm - 10pm; Saturday, Sunday & Bank Holidays 9am - 9pm
- If you need advice outside of those hours we recommend contacting the dedicated SLAM Mental Health Crisis Line on 0800 731 2864 or NHS 111.
Deciding if you should attend A&E
- Given the pressure on A&E departments at the current time, we will be trying to explore a range of alternatives before recommending that young people are seen in A&E. If you are considering the need to attend A&E for mental health reasons, please call us on the above crisis numbers in the first instance.
- Young people should attend A&E if there is a medical emergency e.g. injury from self-harm requiring immediate medical attention or threat to life e.g. from taking an overdose.
For urgent appointments, our staff are able to provide reviews over the telephone, or through video calls. We will also offer face to face appointments when absolutely needed and where it is safe for both families and staff to meet. We will discuss these options with you, as applicable. We need to make you aware that this is being reviewed on a regular basis and so may be subject to change.
Prescriptions
We would welcome being given extra notice (at least 10 days) if you get your prescriptions from us. We will make arrangements to post most prescriptions. If it is not possible to post a prescription to you then we will talk to your GP surgery to discuss whether an e-prescription could be send to your local pharmacy or another solution found.
For further information about coronavirus, please visit the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Other emotional wellbeing and mental health services:
Croydon Drop-in: will be offering a phone and email service to young people currently in counselling, those on the waiting list and those in ongoing groups. http://croydondropin.org.uk/
Off The Record: for ongoing face-to-face counselling sessions you can expect to hear from OTR within a week. If you are waiting for ongoing support, OTR may be offering you telephone or video counselling instead of face-to-face counselling when an appointment becomes available for you https://www.talkofftherecord.org/coronavirus/
Other Alternatives are: ChildLine on 0800 1111 (for under 18 years), Samaritans on 116 123 (18 years or over)