CIOT and UCAT will see a child or young person up to the age of 18 years who has been admitted to hospital because they have:
- been experiencing an acute mental health crisis and they feel unsafe to remain at home
- attempted to end their life
- engaged in self-harming behaviours that need urgent medical attention
- been admitted to hospital for another reason and also have mental health difficulties
If they are open to a CAMHS locality team and have a crisis plan, it is important for clinicians to follow this. The plan will have been developed with the young person and their community team who understand the young person’s needs in more detail than an out-of-hours service. Across all CAMHS teams, we aim to provide consistent care to meet the needs of the young people we support.
CIOT and UCAT work with hospital liaison teams to assess children and young people who have been referred to our services by one of the following hospitals:
- Bristol Children’s Hospital – Bristol city centre
- Bristol Royal Infirmary – Bristol city centre
- Southmead – Bristol
- Weston General Hospital – Weston-super-Mare
CIOT assesses children and young people in Bristol hospitals and UCAT cover Weston General Hospital.
What happens when someone uses our services
When a child or young person attends hospital, they will be assessed by hospital staff. This will help to understand how quickly they need to be seen by CIOT or UCAT. Once a clinician has completed their assessment, they will make a safe discharge plan with the young person and their parent or carer. The clinician will also inform the wider network if the young person is involved with any other services.
