Advice and support
A specialised mental health service for deaf children and young people with mental health issues

Referral details

Referrals are made to us by professionals, with parental agreement
National Deaf CAMHS, The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, The Harrington Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9WL

Contact phone

0161 701 4519

Age

From 0 to 18 years

Cost details

Cost of service and payment options Deaf CAMHS is an NHS service, there are no costs, when children are referred to our service with emotional and behavioural concerns that meet our service criteria.

Description

National Deaf CAMHS is a highly specialised mental health service for deaf children and young people with mental health issues.  The service also accepts referrals for hearing children of deaf parents (see below for who this service is for). The service operates a team around the child and family model, employing deaf and hearing staff (including psychiatrists, psychologists, specialist deaf outreach workers, nurses, social workers and interpreters) to ensure that the child and family can work in their first or preferred language in a culturally sensitive way to address their mental health needs.

Who are we?
We are members of the National Deaf Children, Young People and Family Service. The Manchester Outreach Service is a specialist service, covering the Northwest of England.

Who is this service for?
Deaf children, young people and their families up to the age of 18 years old who are experiencing mental health problems including emotional/behavioural issues. We also work with hearing children of deaf parents.

Access to this service
Families can contact the service directly for advice and information about the service but referrals must be made through a professional.  This can be any professional the child, young person or family is working with and include G.P, Paediatrician, Teacher, School or Social Worker.

How we communicate with children, young people with SEND and their families

All staff are able to communicate in British Sign Language at different levels, but most at BSL Level 2 or higher.  We employ deaf and hearing staff members, and BSL/English interpreters. We also work closely with freelance BSL/English and other language interpreters when appropriate. All children and young people will have a communication profile as part of the service.  This helps us to know how best to communicate with the young person and family both when we meet in person (for example, with an interpreter, using BSL) and how we communicate messages and reports (for example, SMS, BSL signed letters, or plain English).

Registered service and regulatory body
The service is part of the NHS and commissioned by NHS England.

Training acquired to support children and young people with SEND and their families
The service consists of a multidisciplinary team including, psychiatrists, mental health nurses and psychologists.  All have individual and service training to ensure that skills are developed and maintained to work effectively with children and young people with SEND and their families. Many of the team have experience working with children and young people with SEND prior to joining the Deaf CAMH Service.

Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCP)
In addition, for children who do not have emotional and behavioural concerns significant enough to meet our service criteria, we can offer an assessment and make recommendations for support in accessing education as part of their EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) however there will be a cost implication.

Updated:12/01/2023