CAMHS Referrals during a Pandemic; A Prospective Review of Referrals from Paediatricians to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

Background/Aims: CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) is a specialist service for children under 18 years with mental health difficulties 1. The service, accessed through referral to a regional specialist team, is essential for the mental health of young people and often, their safety.

The aims of this project were to determine the origin of referrals to CAMHS in the Paediatric Department of a regional hospital, the age and gender demographics of patients referred and their length of stay.

Methods: For a four month period between June 2020 and October 2020, a central logbook of all referrals to CAMHS was kept by Paediatric Doctors in compliance with GDPR regulations for records of this kind. Patient ID number, date of birth, date of referral to CAMHS and origin of referral were documented. The presenting complaint of patients and working diagnosis were omitted for confidentiality purposes.

Results: During the audit period, 31 referrals were made to CAMHS. We have demonstrated that referrals from in-patient settings slightly supersede Emergency Department referrals (54.8% vs 45.2%). The gender demographics show a striking prevalence of mental health issues in females (65%) vs males (35%). Ages of children ranged from 4-15 years, with the mean age at 13.45 years. The length of stay ranged from 0 to 11 days, with a mean of 1.35 bed-days used.

Conclusion: It is evident from our data thus far, that the demand for CAMHS is significant in our region and places pressure on ED and inpatient wards, to ensure 24-hour care for children with mental health needs. A Paediatric inpatient ward is not a suitable location for a child with an acute mental health need.