Please note indications for urgent referrals, with further detail outlined below:
- Concerns that a young person is pregnant/up to 12 months post-partum and experiencing mental health difficulties.
- Concerns that a child/young person is actively suicidal
- Concerns that a child/young person has an acute psychosis
- Concerns that a child/young person has rapid weight loss and/or is significantly underweight for their age and stage of development and/or presents with serious medical complications associated with an eating disorder.
Children and young people with pressing mental health needs having a big impact on their functioning will be offered a ‘see soon’ assessment within 2 weeks, with the remainder usually seen within around 3 months. This does not apply to ADHD or autism assessments which have a separate waiting list. The factors taken into consideration for assessing urgency are outlined below in ‘Process following referral’.
NHS Lothian currently provides Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services to children and young people from birth to eighteen years of age. For referrals in those children under the age of five years, experience is that it is best to meet with the Health Visitor, Public Health or School Nurse in the first instance.
CAMHS work as part of a multi-disciplinary tiered system. CAMHS specialists can offer consultation and advice prior to a referral being made and can also offer this prior to an assessment appointment to establish clinical need and priority status. Please see a full explanation of the CAMHS Tiered Model of Service.pdf and the consultation service.
CAMHS are focused on children and young people presenting with moderate (where there is significant risk of deterioration), severe and complex mental health or neurodevelopmental difficulties. Where community-based resources may be better indicated, please see the supports:
- on the CAMHS resources page
- which can also be referenced via the RefHelp CAMHS resource page too – with localities highlighted.
CAMHS Tier 2 Services
The CAMHS Tier 2 service is a team of mental health professionals called Primary Mental Health Workers. One team covers East, Mid and West Lothian and the second team covers Edinburgh North and South. The teams comprise a wide range of disciplines including Art Therapies, Social Work, Psychology, Occupational Therapy and Mental Health nursing. The team is trained in assessing the needs of young people who are struggling with their mental health and want to help young people access the right support at the right time. For full details please see NHS Lothian CAMHS Tier 2 services.
CAMHS Locality Outpatient Teams
Tier 3 locality outpatient teams consider referrals for children and young people (0-18 years), where there are significant concerns about the child/ young person’s mental health or wellbeing, and when these difficulties are impacting upon their day-to-day life/ functioning. These teams are multidisciplinary, and offer assessment and Mental Health interventions. For full details please see CAMHS Outpatient Teams.
Specialist Teams within CAMHS
There are a number of specialist teams which are a part of the wider CAMHS service in Lothian. These teams may have slightly different access points and referral criteria and include:
- CAMHS specialist trauma team at the Meadows and No.54 (for children, young people and their families affected by issues relating to child sexual abuse/trauma)
- Paediatric Psychology and Liaison Service (PPALS)
- Intellectual Disabilities team
- Eating disorders team
- Care experienced Children& Young People services
- Lothian Parent and Infant Relationship Service (PAIRS)
Please also note arrangements for CAMHS unscheduled care
Professional Consultation
The professional consultation services offer advice, guidance and can provide access to our resources gathered to work with children. It is NOT an emergency or crisis line, nor is it there to discuss aspects of child protection. The professional consultation services do not accept referrals but may advise if a referral is needed. There is also scope for subsequent email discussion, where indicated.
Please note calls relating to Professional Consultation may not always be responded to on the same day.
1. URGENT MENTAL HEALTH QUERIES – please contact the relevant CAMHS Duty Line detailed below in section 3.
2. ROUTINE MENTAL HEALTH ADVICE – PATIENT NOT ALREADY REFERRED
These consultation details are for professionals wishing advice about a young person they are working with, or to discuss a possible CAMHS referral for children and young people not being seen by CAMHS or on a CAMHS waiting list:
| CAMHS Tier 2 Edinburgh | 01506-585-009 | loth.camhstier2edinburgh@nhs.scot | Mon, Tue, Thurs, Fri 09:00-12:00 Wed 13:30-16:30 |
| CAMHS Tier 2 East, Mid and West Lothian | 01506-585-007 | loth.camhstier2emw@nhs.scot | Mon-Fri 13:30-16:30 |
3. ROUTINE MENTAL HEALTH ADVICE – PATIENT ALREADY REFERRED
For routine queries relating to children and young people who are being seen by CAMHS or on a waiting list, please contact the relevant locality.
| CAMHS South Edinburgh | CAMHS North Edinburgh | CAMHS Midlothian | CAMHS East Lothian | CAMHS West Lothian |
| 0131-536-1110 | 0131-286-5059 | 01968-671-330 | 0131-446-4880 | 01506-523-785 |
| camhssouthteam@nhs.scot | CAMHSNorthEdinReferrals@nhs.scot | camhsmidlothianreferrals@nhs.scot | CAMHSEastLothianReferrals@nhs.scot | WestLothianCAMHS@nhs.scot |
| Mon-Fri | Mon-Fri | Mon-Fri | Mon-Fri | Mon-Thur |
| 09:00-16:30 | 09:00-16:00 | 09:00-16:30 | 12:30-16:30 | 08:30-12:30 Fri 08:30-16:00 |
Process following referral
In deciding how to proceed CAMHS will consider whether there is evidence of specific mental health difficulties, whether there is any risk of harm to self or others and also the severity of the symptoms and the degree of impairment.
On a weekly basis, urgent appointments, known as ‘see soon’ appointments are available. The CAMHS triage team will discuss urgent referrals and allocate an appointment slot based on level of need.
Those referrals that describe moderate, severe, complex and enduring mental health difficulties the family will receive a letter from the service offering the opportunity to opt-in to an initial assessment appointment with the local CAMHS service. Details how to do this will be included in the letter.
If the CAMHS team feel that the difficulties noted represent mild to moderate mental health issues, then the referral can be signposted to appropriate community resources and/or direct to professional consultation with members of the CAMHS team if possible.
If a referral does not include the requested information, the triaging team may be unable to process the referral, and the GP will be contacted.
| CAMHS South Edinburgh | CAMHS North Edinburgh | CAMHS Midlothian | CAMHS East Lothian | CAMHS West Lothian |
| Lauriston Building | Pennywell All Care Centre (PACC) | Eastfield Medical Practice | 1st Floor, Musselburgh Primary Care Centre | St John’s Hospital OPD5 |
| Lauriston Place | 1D Pennywell Gardens | Eastfield Farm Road | Inveresk Road | Howden West Road |
| Edinburgh | Edinburgh | Penicuik | Musselburgh | Livingston |
| EH3 9EN | EH4 4UA | EH26 8EZ | EH21 7BP | EH54 6PP |
| 0131-536-1110 | 0131-286-5059 | 01968-671-330 | 0131-446-4880 | 01506-523-785 |
| camhssouthteam@nhs.scot | CAMHSNorthEdinReferrals@nhs.scot | camhsmidlothianreferrals@nhs.scot | CAMHSEastLothianReferrals@nhs.scot | WestLothianCAMHS@nhs.scot |
CM 16/12/25
Who to refer
Urgent Referrals
Referrals to CAMHS are considered urgent if there are:
- Concerns that a child/young person is actively suicidal
- Concerns that a child/young person has an acute psychosis
- Concerns that a child/young person has rapid weight loss and/or is significantly underweight for their age and stage of development and/or presents with serious medical complications associated with an eating disorder
- Concerns that a young person is pregnant/up to 12 months post-partum and experiencing mental health difficulties.
For emergency referrals requiring same day assessment, please see CAMHS Unscheduled Care Service; otherwise, please indicate URGENT when referring via SCI Gateway.
Routine Referrals
Any concerns related to an eating disorder should be considered urgent, please see above.
If referring with concerns related to neurodiversity, please see individual RefHelp pages. Without the requested information the service may be unable to triage the referral.
Who not to refer
- Children under five years – in the first instance the Health Visitor, Public Health or School Nurse can assess and then consult with CAMHS or Community Paediatrics where needed
- Those aged over 18
- Those with mild to moderate mental health needs where those would be better served by other services.
How to refer
All referrals should be submitted via SCI Gateway or directly to the individual locality referrals e-mail inbox.
If you are referring with concerns related to a potential or confirmed eating disorder, or other sub-specialty (see introduction above), please refer to individual RefHelp pages for guidance as to key information that should be included. Without the requested information CAMHS may be unable to triage the referral or lead to delays in processing
To prevent delays in processing referrals, please:
- ensure you have sought consent from the young person (particularly over 12 years) and their families/carers to make the referral to CAMHS. Please also check we have up to date contact details and an indication of parental responsibility
- Provide clear evidence of pervasive mental health difficulty or neurodiversity including symptoms, onset, duration, severity, risk, behaviours and co-morbid issues:
- Context (please expand) –
- Home: Relevant background, home composition, potential trauma and family history of mental health and/or neuro-developmental difference.
- School/Work: Attendance, attainment, teacher contacts, name of school and peer relationships.
- Other relevant services involved – with young person and/or relevant family.
- Relevant statutory measures
- Any universal services involved/indicated now or historically, including Team around the Child, GIRFEC. Please explore context, progress and how did it help/or if its ongoing (including Social Work, Children and Families Team, Child Protection concerns, ongoing court cases)
- Please attach relevant professional agency reports.
- The young person’s / family’s strength, resilience and protective factors
- Yours, the young person and the family’s hope from the CAMHS service.
