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"As a member of the commissioning team for Croydon PCT I have been responsible for planning and commissioning the Primary Care Psychological Therapy Service that has been provided by Priory Group.
The Priory team has coped well with this situation and waiting times have so far been kept to a manageable level. The team also responded well to the challenge of a separate time limited contract to work through a substantial backlog of referrals."

John Haseler, Assistant Director, Partnership Commissioning (Mental Health & Substance Misuse) Croydon NHS Primary Care Trust

Child and adolescent mental health

According to the Mental Health Foundation, 20% of British children suffer from a mental health problem and 10% require professional help. One in five young people under 20 will experience psychological problems ranging from anxiety and depression to addictions and major development disorders.

The Priory's child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) provides the highest standards of care in safe, positive, flexible environments that enable each patient to achieve his or her maximum potential. We achieve this by offering the best clinicians delivering the best care in the best settings.

Dedicated child and adolescent wards

The Priory hospitals at Altrincham, Bristol, Chelmsford, North London, Roehampton, Southampton, Ticehurst, and Woodbourne all have dedicated child and adolescent acute wards for the assessment, treatment and management of those aged 12 to 18 who are in the acute phase of mental illnesses including:

depression, stress and anxiety
emotional disorders
self harm and suicide
conduct disorders
hyperkinetic disorders
autistic spectrum disorders
psychotic disorders
co-morbidity
alcohol and substance abuse
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and trauma

Priory hospitals also offer sub-acute services for young people with enduring mental health issues who require on-going care in a mental health setting, but who no longer benefit from or need acute inpatient services. All hospitals accept appropriate emergency admissions.

Treatment

All Priory adolescent units are staffed by experienced, dedicated teams of multi-disciplinary mental healthcare professionals who have the expertise and experience to successfully treat young people's problems. Although treatment is normally provided on an inpatient basis, each patient's therapeutic programme varies depending on the level and nature of care required, making more flexible programme structures involving day care or outpatient treatment available to our adolescent patients.

A wide range of group and individual therapies are provided including successful, evidence-based talking therapies like cognitive behaviour therapy, dialectic behaviour therapy and psychodynamic therapy.

School-age patients can continue their education in hospital and, where appropriate, we liaise with their schools to assist their reintegration following treatment.

Eating disorders

Approximately 85% of the Group's eating disorders patients are publicly-funded. Priory hospitals assess and treat young people suffering from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified). Patients typically present in the acute phase of illness and cannot be managed in primary care.

The Priory Hospital Roehampton provides a customised eating disorder unit offering public and private purchasers a wide range of specialist treatment packages, including an adolescent (14+) service. The service has 18 inpatient beds, 10 day care places and an outpatient department. There are two staff consultant psychiatrists and a visiting professor who lead the clinical team.

The unit also has a unique high dependency service providing nasogastric and PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) feeding, one-to-one nursing and intensive care and has been developed in consultation with patients to create a uniquely therapeutic environment.

All Priory treatment programme work to NICE guidelines and include a wide variety of treatment options: full recovery, emergency admission and support programmes delivered through tailor-made inpatient, day care, outpatient and extended care packages. There is an extensive and intensive group therapy programme.

The Priory Hospital Hayes Grove has a specialist eating disorders unit dedicated to treating adolescent patients aged 13 to 18 which incorporates a school room and educational support.

In the North West, Priory eating disorders services offers comprehensive inpatient, outpatient and day care services at the Priory Hospital Altrincham, the Priory Hospital Preston (Lancashire) and the Woodbourne Priory Hospital (Birmingham).

Addictions

Approximately 6% of adolescents abuse dangerous or addictive substances. The Priory Hospital North London has an abstinence-based inpatient programme that helps young people to develop insight into their condition and the resources to lead substance-free lives.

Self-harm

The Priory Ticehurst House cares for young people with highly complex needs, including deliberate self-harm, repeated suicide attempts and post-traumatic stress disorder; these patients will often have a history of sexual or other abuse. An intensive therapeutic programme incorporating dialectic behaviour therapy provides patients with coping skills to gain a feeling of self-control and move on with their lives. Admission is usually for twelve weeks, but can be shorter with outpatient follow-up.

Social, emotional and behavioural difficulties

Priory Education Services offers unique residential provision for young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD), providing purchasers with a unique continuum of care for young people. For more information on Priory Education Service's SEBD provision, click here.

Information and referrals

90% of Priory's adolescent patients are funded by the NHS and we welcome referrals from GPs.

For more information about Priory's CAMHS services and referrals, please call 0845 2 PRIORY (0845 2 774679).