Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, thus CAMHS

[chocolatelife]

Why do posters insists on calling it CAHMS?

is it so it is untraceable?

[MellieGrant]

It's because it's easier, which is pretty obvious.

[Selks]

No, it's just easy to miss-spell. I work in CAMHS and believe me I see the spelling mangled everywhere, even by other services that should know better (eg CHAMS, CAMMS, etc.....).

[fluffymouse]

It is the part of a general fetish for abbreviations that people have on mumsnet. I find it bleeding annoying as I don't know what half of them stand for.

[Selks]

How is it easier to spell it wrongly? Not obvious to me!

[chocolatelife]

oh thanks
it's a mistake?
it is pretty common, I have also worked in CAMHS so perhaps that is why I Know it is wrong but I have seen it on Facebook too

[chocolatelife]

me neither Selks

[chocolatelife]

Then I get irritated by CAMHS Services, when just leave the Services out of the sentance

[shewept]

Because people make typos and mistakes.

[howlongwillthesunlast]

The abbreviation is nothing to with 'MN' it is the official NHS abbreviation for the service, much like 'NHS' itself.

If it's the misspelling that's being alluded to, then just like a previous poster said, it's just an easy word/acronym to misspell.

[chocolatelife]

just me being pedantic i guess.
if you do a search on CAHMS you will see lots of threads.

[thornrose]

It's so mind blowingly obvious it's either a typing error or just a mistake!

[DishwasherDogs]

When we were referred it was never referred to as children and adolescent mental health services, only as CAMHS. If I hadn't looked into it or properly looked at the headed notepaper, I probably would have spelt it CAMS or CAHMS.
It's an easy acronym to get wrong, but I don't think it's a big deal.

[splodgeses]

I think MellieGrant misunderstood slightly, not noticing your main gripe is with the misspelling of the abbreviation rather than with the abbreviation itself.

Basically, she thought you were asking "Why do posters call it CAMHS?"
Not, "Why do posters keep mistakenly calling CAMHS, CAHMS?"

HTH

[EllenJanesthickerknickers]

Because it's pronounced, cams? You can't really pronounce CAMHS, 'camhus?' Whereas CAHMS woud be pronounced cams. So easy mistake to make.

[x2boys]

Because that's what everybody calls it that's what its known as.

[Redwineplease42]

Its easier for the children attending.My teen doesn't mind saying she has a CAMHS appointment rather than say mental health appointment. Stigma attached at that age CAMHS sounds less clinical!

[chocolatelife]

no, I mean CAMHS, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service,

is correct

CAHMS Does NOT make sense but is very often referred to. It irks me

[itsnotmeitsyou1]

I refer to it as SHIT. However, yes CAMHS is usually abbreviated incorrectly due to the fact that when spoken it's 'cams', spelling mistakes are easily made. Most people know to which service you are referring to. I didn't realise that it wasn't the norm to abbreviate it, most health professionals I've come across refere to it as the shorthand version.

[chocolatelife]

I know

[chocolatelife]

[chinam]

I'd say it's because by the time people get to needing the services of CAMHS the correct abbreviation is the last thing on their mind.

[Goldmandra]

I'd say it's because by the time people get to needing the services of CAMHS the correct abbreviation is the last thing on their mind.

Couldn't agree more.

As long as people know what is being referred to does it really matter?

[Lavenderice]

This is not a mumsnet abbreviation it was always called CAMHS, even the people who worked there called it that. It's now called CYPS (pronounced sips) which stands for Children and Young People's Service, because the service users disliked the 'mental health' bit of it.

[chocolatelife]

This is not a mumsnet abbreviation it was always called CAMHS,

I know that.