A new dedicated mental health service for deaf children and adolescents

A National Deaf Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) was launched in England in October 2009. This new service commissioned by the National Commissioning Group was centrally funded after a successful pilot between 2004 and 2009 that was evaluated positively by the Social Policy Research Unit at York University in England using both qualitative and quantitative research. The new service has four main centres in London, York, Dudley and Taunton. Staff from these centres work into six additional local CAMHS centres to give good geographical coverage. These are based in: Newcastle; Manchester; Cambridge; Maidstone; Oxford; and Nottingham. The service provides assessment and interventions for severe to profoundly deaf children and young people with serious child mental health problems. The service uses innovative communication technologies such as teleconferencing, texting and webcam as well as traditional provision of clinical services in clinics, home and school visits. Users and carers will have an ongoing say in service development.