Information for professionals

The Health in Mind team works with children and families where the child’s physical health condition is directly causing psychological difficulties, or where pre-existing psychological difficulties or learning disabilities are impacting on a health condition and/or its assessment and treatment - where the primary liaison and working relationships are with the medical and surgical teams within the hospital.

Referral criteria:

• The child or young person has a physical health condition
• The child or young person is an inpatient or regular outpatient
• Referral is for a parent/carer looking after a child with a physical health condition
• The child or young person has psychological difficulties caused by or impacting on their health condition
• The child or young person has a learning disability which impacts on their access to health care or treatment
• Other appropriate services have been considered e.g. Patient Report Forms (PRFs), Play and Youth Services, appropriate community-based services

We do not accept referrals for:

• Children without a consultant at the Children’s Hospital
• Those experiencing significant emotional difficulties that are affecting areas of their life beyond the health condition or emotional difficulties not relating to their health condition.
• Children presenting with significant current risk to self or others and require support from children’s services or community mental health services.
• Assessment for Neurodevelopmental Conditions (Autism Spectrum Disorder or ADHD)
• Headaches or migraines
• Constipation

Medically Unexplained/Functional symptoms:

We do not provide psychological intervention or ongoing support for physical complaints, or functional symptoms without an underlying physical health condition. Please discuss the outcome of your medical investigations with the family and consider referral to community services for their emotional wellbeing.

Please do not send a referral if the following apply as it will be rejected:

• You have not sought informed consent.
• The family do not understand why they have been referred.
• The family cannot commit to the support at this time.
• The family are currently in an acute phase of medical treatment and focusing on practical demands making it difficult to find space and time for psychological support. 

We are not a children’s mental health crisis service:

If the child is at risk of immediate harm and requires an urgent assessment encourage the family to contact their local children and adolescents’ mental health crisis service or attend their local Emergency Department.

See:
Birmingham Forward Thinking Birmingham Crisis: 0300 300 0099
Sandwell CAMHS crisis: 0121 612 6620 weekdays, 07816075218 evenings and weekends

Safeguarding:

Consult the hospital safeguarding team to discuss your concerns and actions required to safeguard vulnerable individuals.

Paediatric Liaison and Neuropsychiatry:

We will accept referrals for children and young people with psychiatric symptoms that co-exist with both acute and chronic physical health conditions or is a direct manifestation of a physical health condition. We aim to provide assessment, diagnostic clarity and short-term management of the presentations. This also includes assessment and management of behaviours that challenge children and young people with co-existing Learning Disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder or ADHD in the context of underlying physical health conditions.

Medically unexplained/functional symptoms and Neurodevelopmental conditions such as Tic Disorders
Functional Symptoms and Tic Disorders with their psychiatric co-morbidities will be assessed and recommendations for their management in the community will be provided (exceptions to co-existing physical health conditions)
Psychiatric emergencies
Our Liaison Psychiatrist provides specific Assessment and management of Psychiatric emergencies such as delirium, catatonia, etc. in the context of Paediatric Health conditions.