Q&A with... Dr Alex Thompson, Consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, CAMHS
12 | AUGUST 2020
MF: Tell us a bit about the mental health services at CAHS and your role in it?
consultant position in 2017 saw me working at the Bentley Adolescent Unit before the opening of PCH.
AT: The Child and Adolescent Health Service provide statewide and metropolitan mental health services in both community and hospital settings. Our 10 community clinics deliver services to children presenting with severe, complex and persistent mental health needs. Ward 5A at Perth Children’s Hospital is the state’s authorised mental health unit for children and young people aged 0-16 years, for inpatient mental health assessment, treatment and crisis intervention. We also provide a range of specialist outpatient and community-based services such as our Complex Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Service and our Eating Disorders Service. I am a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH). I provide advice and consultation for young people who present with mental health concerns to the Emergency Department and occasionally assist on Ward 5A. Most recently I am privileged to be heading up CAMHS’ Emergency Telehealth Service (ETS), based at PCH. No day is the same here – you never know what to expect and I enjoy that variety. I first came to CAMHS as part of my basic psychiatric training in 2013 and returned in 2015 as a senior registrar. My first
MF: How are services accessed? AT: Generally, by a referral from a GP, community nurse or psychologist, or from a school professional. Children and families can self-refer to some of our services as well. Children and young people experiencing acute concerns can present to the PCH ED without referral. MF: How and why did you choose to work in child and adolescent mental health? AT: This subspecialty is not for everyone. We have diagnoses that are largely derived from adult presentations and some would say forced on children and adolescents. We deal with very complex situations involving multiple parties and witness the suffering of very vulnerable young people. The treatment of children is not left to child psychiatrists alone. The function of the multidisciplinary team is vital, and the teamwork with nursing staff and allied health professionals is something I love about the field. The resilience of the children I meet is truly inspirational. Narratives that have been written for them by others are filled with adversity and trauma, but somehow, they find within themselves the spirit to survive. Child and adolescent psychiatrists are trained to provide expert, evidence-informed, individual and MEDICAL FORUM | CHILD HEALTH ISSUE
BACK TO CONTENTS
Q&A
