Our service is for children young people who have a GP (doctor) in Leeds.

If this is the first time you have looked for help for your problem, the Mindmate website has information about some of the great early help services we have in Leeds.

If you have already tried early help services and, despite this, the problems continue and have a big effect on your daily life, you can talk directly to the Mindmate Single Point of Access (SPA).  They will work with all services available locally to find the right support for you. If appropriate they will send your referral to CYPMHS.

If you are a young person (13 to 17 years) or parents and carers of a child or young person (5 to 17 years) you can call the SPA directly on 0300 555 0324 during office hours*. You can also talk to your GP (doctor) or another professional supporting you, and ask them if they can refer you to the MindMate SPA.

Waiting times vary and can go up and down depending on demand.

A number of things influence how long people wait. These include changes in demand (referral rates) and capacity (staffing) as well as how much flexibility families have in when and where they can get to appointments.

Community Eating Disorder team waiting time

Children and young people with a possible eating disorder are seen by our specialist eating disorders service. We aim to see these children and young people within 4 weeks.

Waiting list for an urgent assessment

These young people and children need to be seen quickly and we prioritise them. For example, a young person with significant mental health problems or someone who has a suspected eating disorder and is losing weight rapidly. We aim to see all children and young people who need an urgent appointment within a week.

Waiting for emergency assessments

These young people and children need to be seen very quickly. For example: someone who has been hospitalised after trying to seriously hurt themselves. We aim to see children and young people who need an emergency appointment on the same day.

Sometimes young people or children need to be seen urgently by CYPMHS. For example if you have a suspected eating disorder and are losing weight rapidly or have thoughts of seriously harming yourself.

What you should do

If this applies to you:

It is important to tell someone (for example your parent or staff at school) who can keep you keep safe and get help for you.

Physical safety is the first priority; arrange to see your doctor (GP) who will assess your physical and mental health needs. You need to make sure you let them know how you are feeling as well as your physical symptoms. Your GP will contact CYPMHS.

If you need immediate medical help (for example you have taken an overdose or seriously harmed yourself) you need to go to the hospital emergency department.

If you are not sure what to do you can call 111 and get medical advice

We aim to make sure that all children, young people and families can access our service. It would be really helpful if you can let us know of any special requirements your family may have, such as disabled access, reading, hearing or language needs.

Firstly the doctors and nurses will make sure you are physically well. Then you will be seen by somebody from the Child and Young People’s Mental Health Service (often referred to as CYPMHS) who will talk to you about how you are feeling and why you think you self-harmed. This is a routine assessment which all young people who have self-harmed are offered.

The CYPMHS service offers assessment, treatment and support to young people experiencing problems like self harm and their families. CYPMHS has workers from many professional backgrounds, so depending who is on duty, you may get to see a psychologist, a social worker, a nurse, a therapist or a psychiatrist. It just depends whose duty day it is. If you already have a worker in CYPMHS, we will try to contact your worker before meeting with you. It is unlikely that your usual worker will come and see you in hospital but we would usually try and arrange for any follow-up to be with your usual worker. If you have a social worker, we will also try and speak first with them. However, we do not contact your school unless we have your permission.

There are two parts to the assessment.

The first part of the assessment: This happens in hospital. There we will talk with you and this involves asking lots of questions. In most cases, you will be able to go home afterwards. Very occasionally, this may not be possible but we will explain the reasons why to you. Hospital staff will sort out for your parent(s) or carer(s) to attend the CYPMHS assessment. If this is not possible, an older brother, sister or family friend may be with you. If you do not live at home, your social worker or another responsible adult can come instead. Part of the assessment is with you on your own, as many young people find it easier to talk more freely without carers present. Most of this can be kept confidential. We will however explain when this promise of confidentiality cannot be kept. We hope that the assessment helps you and your family to understand why you hurt yourself, as this is the starting point to make changes and to find alternative ways of coping.

The second part of the assessment: We will arrange to meet up with you again in about two weeks time. If everything has settled by then, we may not arrange further work after this visit. We send a letter to your GP summarising the key points which have come up during the assessment. We will discuss with you whether you, and your family, would like a copy of this letter and we can arrange for it to be sent to any address that you prefer.

If you have any questions about the assessment, please ask the named nurse who has been looking after you whilst you have been in hospital.