CAMHS referral

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Anyone know how long it takes for an appointment letter to come through after a gp referral? My ds is 15 and is struggling with probable OCD and so he was referred by the gp. I had a letter 3 weeks ago telling me to phone to confirm the referral, which I did, and I was told we’d get an appointment sent out to us.

How long should I leave it until I chase it up? The CAMHS clinic secretary made it sound like it’d be by return of post. But I’ve had nothing. It’s been 3 weeks since I phoned. Should I phone or do they only send the appointments out close to the date??

I would phone to double check your details are correct. I’ve rung to confirm I wanted an appointment in the past and then one hasn’t arrived. Obviously it could also just be that there’s a long wait, but it’s reasonable to call and ask about waiting times if that is the case.

CAMHS are seriously over stretched and underfunded. It could be a while.
By all means phone and ask how long the waiting list for appointments is so you have a general idea.

where I work the waiting time for a routine referral is around 4-6 months. Not great I know, but sadly how it is right now. Maybe ring and ask what the waiting time is?

oh ans yes, you would only get a letter with appointment closer to the appointment date.

My DC was also referred to CAMHS by the GP for OCD. I was told the waiting time was 6 months. We were at crisis point and decided to get private CBT for DC. It's really expensive (£75 per session) but my parents helped me to pay for it. I am really glad we did though as the CBT was very useful. My DC had 6 sessions in total and has taken a break from CBT to implement everything covered in the sessions.

I'm sorry you're going through this OP. It's really tough. I hope your DC finds some strategies to help.

Hi. It may well be months I’m afraid. If you can afford any private counselling I’d recommend starting it. The book “talking back to ocd” is good. Loads of ways you and your child can help the issue without waiting for a professional. Also kooth online counselling is free and funded by nhs for teens. Good luck.

Thanks everyone. We’re really lucky that his school have a mental health support worker on site and she is giving him counselling once a week. She has also done an OCD screening test with him, which she will analyse this week and pass onto CAMHS. I’ve got a few books from the library about CBT and OCD as well. Looks like we might be waiting a while! Thanks xx

My dd has just had an appointment letter through - I think we have waited about 6 weeks from referral for the appt letter and appointment is in 2 weeks time, so it might not be too long. Hope it comes through soon for you. So many kids seem to he experiencing problems at the moment.

Oh wow @Aderyn21 That sounds really good, so pleased for your dd and hopefully we will get an appointment soon tooxx

So we've had the letter! His initial appointment is in 2 weeks time. So happy, hopefully he can start to get the help he needs. Thanks everyone.