Dorset: Child & Adolescent Mental Health service

Dorset Health Care’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Gateway Service is now available across the whole of Dorset. The service manages assessments and provides help for children and young people experiencing problems with their mental health. It acts as the ‘front door’ of CAMHS and has been introduced to help reduce the wait time for assessments and treatments that young people can experience when accessing the service. Information provided by Bovington HIVE via Dorset Council  Key points about the service: All referrals to CAMHS in Dorset must be sent via the new CAMHS Gateway – either online via the CAMHS Dorset website or to dhc.camhsgateway.admin@nhs.net People aged 16-18 will be able to self-refer to CAMHS using an online form. People assessed by the Gateway team as having low-level symptoms will be supported by the brief intervention team. Those with a moderate or severe diagnosis will be transferred to the community CAMHS teams for more specialist treatment. The roll-out of CAMHS Gateway aims to ease the caseloads of the existing CAMHS teams and reduce waiting times. Gateway is not separate from the rest of CAMHS – it is all part of the same service. CAMHS referral criteria will remain the same.The service can be contacted via email dhc.camhsgateway.admin@nhs.net or phone 0300 0191 770.