CAMHS CAST service update

The CAMHS CAST service which provides 60-90 minute consultations for schools within Worcestershire is currently on pause. 

We encourage professionals to contact CAMHS Single Point of Access (SPA) should they need advice and to also visit the rest of our website, which provides information on other available local services.

CAMHS CAST

The CAST (Consultation, Advice, Supervision and Training) team works directly with professionals who are working with young people experiencing or at risk of experiencing mental health difficulties.

CAST offers mental health specific consultation, advice, supervision and training to school staff and other professionals where a young person is not currently receiving Specialist CAMHS support.  Professionals include: 

  • Schools
  • Nurses
  • Health visitors
  • GPs
  • All agencies within the children’s workforce
  • Social services
  • Voluntary sector

Every school has a named CAST worker who they can contact. In certain circumstances we are able to offer consultations on a one to one basis for individual children and young people. We are also able to offer advice regarding individual children and young people when they would like to remain anonymous and on issues involving groups of children where there is a concern.

The team work closely with specialist CAMHS to ensure a seamless transition into treatment for children who need it most. CAMHS CAST can also make recommendations to other agencies about how to support the emotional and mental well-being of a child/young person by offering strategies, recommendations and possible overview via supervision and consultation of an agreed action.

Training for professionals

CAMHS CAST offer training for:

  • Worcestershire school/GP/organisation
  • When training is not available else where
  • Those who require mental health specific training
  • Staff who require training, not young people

To request training email a completed training request form to whcnhs.camhscast@nhs.net.

Depending on the requests across the county, it could be that CAMHS CAST would offer a county wide training which would be open to multiple schools/GPs/professionals. Please note, training requests must be specifically related to mental health.

Worcestershire CAMHS CAST referral information

A child/young person can be refered into the CAMHS CAST service by a professional if;

  • They are registered with a GP in Worcestershire
  • Have consent from parents/carer

Referrals for CAMHS CAST must be completed on this referral form and sent to: whcnhs.camhscast@nhs.net. Any referrals sent to the CAMHS single point of access email will not be processed.

More information for professionals is available in this leaflet.

Leaflets and resources

  • Information leaflet for parents
  • Professionals referral leaflet
  • Emotional Wellbeing Toolkit for Professionals - It may be helpful for you to access the Emotional Wellbeing Toolkit for Professionals developed by Worcestershire County Council. The document ‘aims to provide a quick guide to best practice in order to help Worcestershire schools, colleges and other education settings know what they should be providing to meet the emotional wellbeing needs of their pupils and learners, and to know when and how to access further support if needed.’

Help and resources

If you are a child or young people please visit the our information section to find out more about feelings and emotions.

Give feedback on our services

We are always looking for feedback on our services and we would love to hear from you. You can complete the quick CAMHS feedback survey here.