MNHQ here: parents with experience of CAMHS in Merton, Kingston, Wandsworth, Richmond and Sutton - this way please

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

We've been contacted by the CAMHS service at South West London and St George's Mental Health Trust; they're interested in gathering the opinions and feedback of parents who've come into contact with CAMHS services in Merton, Kingston, Wandsworth, Sutton and Richmond.

Here's what they say:

'[We] have seen a number of discussions on Mumsnet about CAMHS and a lack of thoughtfulness of the service in working with both young people and parents. We would really value the opportunity to see how we could work with Mumsnet in the local areas we cover to improve our services.'

They're interested particularly in your thoughts on things like punctuality, responsiveness, quality, respectfulness, and the standard of care and facilities on offer.

Our lovely Local Editors in Merton and Sutton (Kate) and Kingston and Surrey (Cherry) will be cross-hosting this thread on their Local discussion boards, and we're hoping other Local Editors will be able to get involved too.

So please do use this thread to post up any experiences, thoughts and feedback you may have. Matthew Willoughby, who is the CAMHS Operations Manager at the trust, will be keeping an eye on the thread and has said he's happy to come on and respond to points that are made - probably at a specific time (webchat stylee) a bit further down the line once we've got a sense of how much feedback there is for him to take on. In the longer term, he's interested in perhaps setting up parents' feedback groups to offer regular input, and would like to include Mumsnetters in that.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts (and do remember - if you live in Merton, Kingston, Richmond, Sutton or Wandsworth and you're not already signed up to your Mumsnet Local site, do please check them out.)

[MatthewWilloughby]

Hi mums net

just to say that i have organised to do this thread on the first Monday of every month from 11:00am 12:30 pm

Today I have Rich Stokes the Buisness Manager for NHS CAMHS to assist in any questions. for the following times i am looking to get team managers for CAMHS to join.

i have been asked by Laura Tyrell the participation lead for CAMHS in the Trust to post some details on what her role entails and was hoping we could drum up interest for young people to get involved in having their say into CAMHS via mums net. (We are conscious that parents are often the taxi's for their children )

What is participation?

It’s empowering children and young people who use (or have used) CAMHS to find and use their voice to speak out about what’s important to them in mental health.

What does it involve?

We’ll start with an informal chat over coffee to find out what your child’s strengths are, what they’re interested in and any skills they want to develop and then work together to find the best projects for them to get involved in. They can get involved in as little or as much as they like. Our projects range from art days and creative sessions to meeting with mental health decision makers. They may want to train to become a peer mentor, or help us recruit and train staff. They may want to attend skills workshops or produce art work or articles for us to publish in a magazine.

What are the benefits?

Participation activities are driven by the young people we work with, so everything we do is about supporting them to set and reach their own goals. They’ll meet other young people, develop skills, have fun and learn more about themselves. They may also be able to get a character reference for their next steps.

How can my child get involved?

Call or text Laura, our participation officer on 07779440836, or e-mail her at [email protected]
We’re also on Twitter @swlstgCAMHS

[MatthewWilloughby]

@MrsFizzy

DS is under Sutton CAMHS for ADHD monitoring. Had a few hiccups at the beginning of the process leading up to diagnosis (diagnosis was at Springfield hospital, so under Wandsworth CAMHS I believe) then there was some sort of mix up so we waited almost a year to start medication. I take some of the blame for that though as I guess I was so used to being on waiting lists that I just presumed I'd hear something soon!

Since we've been going to Sutton CAMHS it has been a generally positive experience. Waiting times for appointments are short and the staff are very friendly. Whilst at the appointments the Dr is very thorough, takes his time and I've never felt rushed.

The only criticism I would have, and it's a small one really, is that one the two occasions I've called in between appointments with concerns it's been quite difficult to speak to anybody.

Hi

Thank you for your comments. we do work really hard on seeing young people and their families as soon as possible.

Sorry that you found it difficult to make contact in between appointments. Staff do work hard to respond to messages that are left on voicemail as soon as possible as all messages are important. I have passed your feedback on to the Sutton Leads and will ensure responsiveness is followed through.

BW

Matthew

[MatthewWilloughby]

@OhTheRoses

We moved from Wandsworth last year just as dd needed support. I haven't heard great things about Wandsworth on here but our old GP felt they would have seen dd relatively urgently.

It would be good to get some involvement from Surrey and Borders which neighbours this area because they have provided zero helpful support and in my opinion are completely unfit for purpose, ill managed and totally disengaged from the needs of young people and their families. We had no option but to seek private care.

If you break a tiny bone you are followed up routinely with senior reg or consultant appointments. If a young person has a mental health issue they are lucky to be seen by a nurse of variable quality and experience who reports their findings, not necessarily accurately, to a multi-disciplinary team. It is a disaster for young people and is robbing them of the opportunity to get well, succeed and play full and healthy roles in society.

Hi

We are sorry to hear about the difficulties you have had accessing NHS services in your new location.

Hope everything works out and if you ever move back to Wandsworth please don't hesitate to seek the support of the CAMHS team there.

BW

Matthew

[MatthewWilloughby]

@Savagebeauty

We have experience of Kingston and I was completely patronised by a leading person there. I still have the letter she wrote implying that I was the reason my DD had severe OCD and anxieties.
The actual practicioner we saw was lovely but only there short term...DD built up a real rapport but hated the replacement. We then went private.

Hi

thank you for your comment i am very sorry about your negative exsperience. if you do exsperience any unhelpful issues again please follow up in the first instance with the Team Manager who you can ask to speak to. If you are still unhappy you can contact the complaints dept as we do have a robust complaints process and we do follow up all complaints.

email - [email protected]

BW

Matthew

[MatthewWilloughby]

@thisusernameisnotavailable

Sutton (wallington) CAMHS I find very hit and miss. And what's with the big push for CBT therapy, it's not a miracle cure and my child didn't take to it and found it all rather negative and counter productive.

I can't say I find the reception staff there very welcoming, a particular lady was very rude and judgemental about my child.

The building is also so very drab and a dark corridor leads into more drab rooms. No wonder the staff seem so fed up too

Hi

Thank you for your comment and I am sorry to hear about your experiences of Sutton CAMHS.

CBT is a NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) compliant intervention and is one of a number of intervention options available within CAMHS. Starting with this therapy would have been a clinical decision based on the young persons presenting problems and the clinicians initial assessment. Sorry that you were made to feel this was the only option available and I will ensure that all clinicians are aware of your helpful feedback and take learning from this.

I was concerned about the point you raised around lacking customer care and all staff have now completed customer care training.

We are working with our participation lead to ensure the environment at Sutton is improved in line with feedback from service users and I will pass this on.

Thank you for posting.

Matthew

[MatthewWilloughby]

Hi mumsnet

I am now signing off but will be back Monday 3rd October 2016 from 11:00 - 12:30 as have agreed to be online for the first Monday of the month.

I have answered a few more posts and hope the response is helpful.

I just want to include an opportunity for young people who are part of CAMHS services at this moment in time for those who are:

1 - 13+ by November 2016
2 - have attended a CAMHS appointment

Our Participation Lead is organising a 12 week debating course with other young people from CAMHS services across London and the South-East with a competition at the end of the course being hosted in Central London.

If your child meets the criteria and would be interested, please contact Laura Tyrell, 077 7944 0836.

Thanks again, and look forward to speaking to everyone next Monday.

Best Wishes,
Matthew

[Maggiet24]

My son and I have been involved with Merton CAMHS since 2009. I would say as a diagnostic service it was excellent. Structured appointments, diagnosis etc. Disappointingly though when diagnosis is dispensed so are you with little basic information.

Trying to reaccess the service for depression, aggressive behaviour, suicidal ideation is another matter entirely - we poor telephone support; lost notes; one clinician disagreeing with another clinician on diagnosis and then fixed views and poor treatment.

What strikes me is at the heart should be the child but it is not; a culture of blame, if we cant fix with the basic tool box lets just ignore, poor communication and services that does not even meet industry best practice for therapeutic service i.e BACP. HCPC. This is not an empathic service but one clearly outdated, underfunded and overrun - but it is essential.

I have fought hard desperately wanting to get help for my son; the school phoned and emailed, ignored; the GP wrote, contacted Springfield to be told we have to go back through CAMHS and after a sharp/rude letter from CAMHS to the GP, I finally got a call offering an appointment again this Thursday. Disappointingly my request for a different opinion seems to have been thwarted as the clinician previously involved has placed herself in the appointment so I am fully expectin the same opinion, not being listened to and no help. Again I have experienced narrow minded views; research says (with no substance and totally out of date).

This thread is very useful but the questions are how is this information going to help. What are the plans for review and improvement. For example what type of supervision of therapists take place along with their own personal therapy - transference/burn out surely are a concern???? Effective practice more up to date and efficient support / in school counselling, DBA, EMDR. Why do other CAMHS services publish the support they offer on websites and are very transparent whereas Merton hide behind an iron curtain? Where is the client/patient/child at the centre of this service?

I would love to hear how plans are to review and improve a service that clearly has not been looked at in over a decade but is so important. CAMHS needs bringing into the present and supported!

[MatthewWilloughby]

Hi mumsnet

i am back on line till 12:30 pm today and will be joined again by Rich Stokes the buisness manager for CAMHS along with Charles Tutagaleva the team manager for dedicated community eating disorder service, childrens community learning difficulties service and neuro delelopment service

Matthew

[MatthewWilloughby]

@Maggiet24

My son and I have been involved with Merton CAMHS since 2009. I would say as a diagnostic service it was excellent. Structured appointments, diagnosis etc. Disappointingly though when diagnosis is dispensed so are you with little basic information.

Trying to reaccess the service for depression, aggressive behaviour, suicidal ideation is another matter entirely - we poor telephone support; lost notes; one clinician disagreeing with another clinician on diagnosis and then fixed views and poor treatment.

What strikes me is at the heart should be the child but it is not; a culture of blame, if we cant fix with the basic tool box lets just ignore, poor communication and services that does not even meet industry best practice for therapeutic service i.e BACP. HCPC. This is not an empathic service but one clearly outdated, underfunded and overrun - but it is essential.

I have fought hard desperately wanting to get help for my son; the school phoned and emailed, ignored; the GP wrote, contacted Springfield to be told we have to go back through CAMHS and after a sharp/rude letter from CAMHS to the GP, I finally got a call offering an appointment again this Thursday. Disappointingly my request for a different opinion seems to have been thwarted as the clinician previously involved has placed herself in the appointment so I am fully expectin the same opinion, not being listened to and no help. Again I have experienced narrow minded views; research says (with no substance and totally out of date).

This thread is very useful but the questions are how is this information going to help. What are the plans for review and improvement. For example what type of supervision of therapists take place along with their own personal therapy - transference/burn out surely are a concern???? Effective practice more up to date and efficient support / in school counselling, DBA, EMDR. Why do other CAMHS services publish the support they offer on websites and are very transparent whereas Merton hide behind an iron curtain? Where is the client/patient/child at the centre of this service?

I would love to hear how plans are to review and improve a service that clearly has not been looked at in over a decade but is so important. CAMHS needs bringing into the present and supported!

Hi Maggie

Thank you for taking the time to post your concern about your current exsperience of Merton CAMHS.

Firstly, I apologise for any upset that you and your family may have experienced and we are concerned that you feel your childs interests are not at the heart of our service.

We do take parent's / carers concerns seriously and hope that by doing this form of communication via mums net helps give reasurance that we want to reach out in as many ways possible to work with parent's / carers.

Please feel free to contact me via my details below so that I can better understand your concerns. I will then be exploring these with the Merton Senior CAMHS Team.


Matthew Willoughby
CAMHS Operations Manager
Wandsworth Management Services
South West London and St George's Mental Health Trust
Springfield University Hospital
61 Glenburnie Road
London SW17 7DJ

Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 020 3513 6542

[MatthewWilloughby]

Hi mumsnet

We are no logging off and plan to join the thread again on Monday 3rd November 2016 from 11am to 12:30 pm

Thank you for taking the time to post comments and look foward to turning up again in Novemebr 16

BW

Matthew Wiiloughby

[MatthewWilloughby]

Hi Mums Net

i have logged back on and am accompanied by Rich Stokes the Business Manager for CAMHS again till 12:30 for any questions you may have

Matthew

[MatthewWilloughby]

Hi Mums Net

I have now logged on and will be on line till 12;30 today for any questions / concerns you may have

BW
Matthew

[MatthewWilloughby]

Hi Mums Net

I have now logged on and will be on line till 12;30 today for any questions / concerns you may have

BW
Matthew