Haringey Adolescent Outreach Team (AOT)

As part of the referral criteria, we request that the young person receives a full mental health assessment to identify amongst others, the nature of the clinical presentation and the triggers for the deterioration in mental health, the current and previous risks, the young’s person family and social circumstances. The assessment also would aim to identify any urgent needs or any safeguarding concerns.

We accept referrals from any health professionals, social care, educational institutions, the police or the voluntary sector.

All referrals are to be made to CAMHS Access team (Single Point of Access SPA).
They can be contacted on the following email address and telephone number:

Email: beh-tr.camhsreferral@nhs.net

Telephone number: 020 8342 3400.

The referrals are screened by CAMHS Access and, if appropriate, passed on to the Haringey Adolescent Outreach Team. We do, however, welcome direct calls from referrers to the Haringey Adolescent Outreach Team, who may wish to discuss the case or seek advice.

Once a referral is accepted by the AOT, the patient is assigned a case worker. Other members of the team will provide input as required or indicated.

We see patients at least once a week and are able to see them at the GP premisses, AOT clinic, schools or other venues in the community.  

The AOT works closely with parents/carers to provide information, support, and advice and to share risk management.

We liaise with school and other services within the young person’s support network, as appropriate.

We do not operate a waiting list and, if a referral is accepted, we will usually offer an assessment within a few days.

We carry out an assessment of the young person’s mental health presentation, including risk assessment, seeking to identify any urgent needs or concerns in terms of emotional, psychological, physical, and social well-being. We also review any educational and occupational concerns or any other factors contributing to the current acute presentation or preventing its resolution. 

Risks are monitored regularly, and a safety plan is formulated by clinicians, with the input from the young person, their family/carers and the patient’s wider community team.

• Treatment may include medication prescribing and monitoring and therapeutic support or psychological interventions provided by a range of professionals within the team.  
• We invite young people to explore and identify interests and goals and support them in engaging with activities they may wish to participate in within their local community.
• We liaise with and provide consultation, advice and support to other professionals, including other mental health services, medical services carrying for the young person’s physical health, schools, educators and social workers.

This collaborative work with hospital units may start whilst the young person is still an inpatient, through the following:  

• AOT clinicians may attend the Care Program Approach (CPA) meetings to enable us to contribute to the management plan regarding home leave and discharge.
• We support young people whilst on home leave from hospital.
• We offer a follow-up review in the community within 2-7 days of hospital discharge or A&E presentation, safe in cases when the young person has already been allocated to the generic CAMHS care coordinator.

Once the acute crisis is resolved or the patient is stable enough, the young person could be transferred back to the care of his GP, who may continue to offer periodic reviews or continue prescribing any medications started by the psychiatric team. In other cases, the young person may be referred to or be transferred back to any previous community services they were under, prior to coming to AOT or being admitted to hospital.

We may also refer patients to inpatient units (Tier 4 services), in case the acute mental health crisis is not resolved or their mental health deteriorates.