CAMHS, PLSAs, Summer & Data 27th May 2017 Dear All Lots of news this week….
SWLStG CAMHS – BBC News South West London St. Georges, Children & Adolescent Mental Health Service Of the 2000+ children and young people with identified needs in Kingston and Richmond, nearly half are somewhere on the autistic spectrum. This news affects a lot of families. The BBC have run a news item during their breakfast programme this morning, and the written article can be seen in the link below. Published today. SEND Family Voices are quoted. The article is a fair reflection of the situation as it stands: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40058482 Here is the news article which has appeared in the local papers at the end of last week (essentially, the same story in many local papers): http://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/15306391.NHS_could_stop_diagnosing_child_autism_in_ south_west_London/
SWLStG CAMHS – National Autistic Society “As you are no doubt aware, there has been quite a bit in the local news concerning proposed changes to the eligibility criteria for children being referred to South West London St. George's Mental Health Trust (SWLSG) for assessments of autism and ADHD. Basically, the proposition is that a diagnostic assessment service would only be offered to those children who already have significant mental health issues, so those seeking a diagnosis without these issues would not be eligible. Should this proposal go ahead, children living in the boroughs of Kingston, Richmond, Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth would be affected. NAS Richmond, SEND Family Voices, Express CIC and ADHD Richmond are all working together to challenge such changes, and NAS Chief Executive Mark Lever has also written to the South West London Collaborative Commissioning Group plus the individual Clinical Commissioning Group in each borough. The following statement has been issued by Kingston's lead Children's Commissioner about these proposed changes: "No decision has been made by the Trust or by the clinical commissioning groups. Any changes would require detailed engagement with stakeholders and Kingston CCG will talk to local people before reaching any final conclusions on how best to go forward.We recognise the concerns of families of children with a neurodevelopmental condition and the groups who support them and that these must be addressed in any proposal brought forward for consideration. The Trust and South West London CCG commissioners are committed to working together to ensure young people access the most appropriate service for their needs. We need to get the model of service and service capacity right for the range of needs across SW London".