What does 'Discharge from CAMHS' mean?
Discharge is the word health services use when the episode of care and treatment a person or family has is coming to a close. This would mean that there would not be any further scheduled appointments. If CAMHS are needed in the future a referral can happen which would provoke considering how best to support a child/family and this may lead to a further intervention.
How is Discharge decided?
All elements of care and treatment including the goals and the aspirations should be decided together with a professional in CAMHS. This is because CAMHS Professionals understand what the service is able to offer and what it cannot and what can be better done elsewhere. This includes the end of care and treatment; discharge should be a conversation with the CAMHS professional where the decision is shared. The best way to have a good and helpful discharge is to start talking about it from the start; ‘what will be different that means that time with CAMHS should stop?’
Moving from CAMHS to another Service
Sometimes the end of a person/family’s time with CAMHS is because another service makes more sense to meet the needs that are being thought about. This could be that the other service can support in meeting needs better than CAMHS or because something has changed. It could be because a person becomes an Adult and Adult MH services may be needed. By far the majority of people who use CAMHS services do not transfer to Adult Services but where it is needed we look to support that change as much as possible.
Support I can access following Discharge
The Whole iThrive system exists regardless of a referral to CAMHS. All of the support that helps for children to stay well and thriving, that supports children to cope and adapt to the challenges that they experience. If there is a need for specialist camhs a referral should be made and the service can consider with the family what the right course of action is. All of this would be discussed as a part of discharge.