CAMHS Referrals

All NHS CAMHS units and most independent ones are under extreme pressure at the current time.  This has been exacerbated by the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Cardinal Clinic is no different.  We are seeing huge numbers of requests for our services and despite efforts, we are struggling to recruit more clinicians to our service.  Current demand is outstripping our availability, considerably.

Our referrals team are fielding large numbers of calls from concerned parents about accessing our service.  Understandably, parents are keen to share details of the mental health challenges their children are experiencing.  We know this can be upsetting for parents to share and it is also distressing for our staff, who know we cannot help every patient who needs us.

Consequently, we have taken the difficult decision to only accept electronic requests for referral to our CAMHS service.  We hope this will protect parents from having to go through their experience repeatedly, protect our staff from distress and allow us to focus our time on getting as many children through to a clinician, as possible.

Our Approach to CAMHS Referrals

At the present time, we have a considerable waiting list for appointments with one of our CAMHS consultants.  We cannot continue to add patients to this list indefinitely.

Our approach to managing this waiting list will be as follows:  We will continue to run a limited waiting list for our services.  We will provide patients on this waiting list with an estimation of the likely timescales.  When this waiting list is full we will continue to takes the details of further patients but this will be without any commitment to any timeframe within which you will be able to see a clinician.

Where demand for services is significantly in excess of our availability, we will sadly have to stop accepting any new referrals.  We will try to provide an estimate of when we will be able to reopen our service but this will be subject to change.  We are actively recruiting for more clinicians and if successful, situations may change at short notice.

We recognise that this is unsatisfactory but we feel this gives a clear approach and allows parents to make decisions as to whether to pursue care at Cardinal Clinic.

Current Service Update

Neuro-Developmental Support

We are facing considerable pressure for ADHD and autism assessments.  At times we are having to close the waiting list due to the number of patients on it.  This is a dynamic situation which can change over a short period.  Please call us for the latest situation.

General Psychiatry

We are running a waiting list at present and there will be some delays to seeing a psychiatrist.  However, the waiting list is currently open and we are accepting patients.  Patients who can be flexible in terms of availability, particularly at short notice, are likely to get an appointment sooner.  This can be within a few weeks, at times.

At the present time, we are only accepting patients who have been referred by their GP.  When you complete the form below, please ensure you attach the referral letter from your GP in the relevant section.