Children and Adolescents Mental Health Service (CAMHS)/North East London NHS Foundation Trust

Misdiagnosed and refused treatment, no safeguarding measures taken when staff became aware of child abuse at home and violence and discrimination at school.

This CAMHs ignored an emergency referral from NHS Mental Health Crisis for my teen, only saw us on prompting from teen’s college who seemed more concerned than CAMHs. CAMHs arranged an appointment during which we waited to be seen for nearly 2 hrs and a 1:1 was conducted only with the teen. No proper assessment, no support, complete gaslighting and unprofessionally shared with teen that services are stretched and they should wait for adult services when they turn 18. I was called in for another meeting 1:1, in which everything the teen was told was contradicted. Teen now seeing them weekly with absence of key medical professional who disappeared from the service without explanation and teen is without adequate support and being enabled and misled on key issues pertaining to their health and wellbeing, making my job as a single mum to manage it all near impossible. This is the worst public service I have ever encountered with absolutely no professionalism, empathy, understanding, or ability to support. They have made matters worse for us as they buy time till teen’s 18th birthday and they can fob them off - all the while encouraging the teen not to engage with the services so they have one less case.

I still don’t understand their function? If they can’t offer the support due to the cut backs they keep complaining about, then give an alternative! How can a mentally disturbed teen with most likely a mental health condition just be left to their own devices with the expectation that mum will mop it all up every week as the teen is enabled to challenge mum!?! This service is violent and has absolutely no regard for the challenges that parents and teens are dealing with and have matters worse for my teen and family.

Furthermore, there is no cultural sensitivity in this service. I pity other families that have been through similar to what I have!

I wanted to repeat a prescription for my daughter. An admin woman was very rude and put the phone down twice . She was overtalking and refused to give her name.

Both my twin 16yr old girls are under CAMHS for 18mths. Neither of them have had access to any physiological treatment. I am appalled . I have been emailing CAHMS & ringing them for 5 days. Had no reply . My daughter needs her medication reviewed she is very low in mood with very little motivation, very withdrawn

Ruined my life ............ Did not address the cause of my mental illness and discharged me with NO records ...

Our daughter was admitted into hospital by the Crisis team at CAMHS and we were assigned a caseworker. She is very young, only 8, and is struggling. Our caseworker left and we have no support, nobody answers our emails and my daughter has deteriorated and is refusing school.

Although the staff are very attentive, meetings feel like a tick-box exercise and they do not make referrals. I have had to go back to my GP to get hospital referrals for my child. They are quite limited in what they can do.