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Making sense of child and adolescent mental health services

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Paul Stallard  and
Robert Potter
Paul Stallard*
Affiliation:
Bath Mental Health Care Trust, Child and Family Therapy Service, Royal United Hospital Combe Park, Bath BA1 3NG
Robert Potter
Affiliation:
Bath Mental Health Care Trust, Child and Family Therapy Service, Royal United Hospital Combe Park, Bath BA1 3NG
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

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Aims and method

A prospective audit of the 425 referrals made to a community child and adolescent mental health service over a three month period was undertaken. Standardised data were collected about the referrer, reason for referral problem chronicity and complexity, service response and first appointment attendance.

Results

The service is currently seeing less than one in five of the children conservatively estimated to require specialist mental health services. The majority of those referred were appropriate, identifying multiple problems of longer than six months' duration presenting within a complex context.

Clinical implications

The results have provided commissioning authorities with a clear specification of the current service. This can inform decisions about resource reallocation, prioritisation and future service development. Clinicians feel that the complexity of their work is now understood and various audit projects and initiatives have been established in order to explore alternative ways of responding to referrer demands.

Type
Original papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 23 , Issue 4 , April 1999 , pp. 217 - 221
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

References

Department of Health and Department for Education (1995) A Handbook on Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Manchester: HMSO.Google Scholar
Kurtz, Z. (1996) Treating Children Well A Guide to Using the Evidence Base in Commissioning and Managing Services for the Mental Health of Children and Young People. London: Mental Health Foundation.Google Scholar
Kurtz, Z., Thornes, R. & Wolkind, S. (1994) Services for the mental health of children and young people in England. A national review. London: Department of Public Health, South Thames RHA.Google Scholar
NHS Advisory Service (1995) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Together We Stand London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Wallace, S. A., Crown, J. M., Cox, A. D., et al (1995) Epidemiologically Based Needs Assessment Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Winchester: Wessex Institute of Public Health.Google Scholar
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