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Children’s Health and Wellbeing Team
The children’s health and wellbeing team is made up of a children and young person’s mental health practitioner, two children’s health and wellbeing navigators, and a trainee children’s wellbeing practitioner.
Role of service
The children’s health and wellbeing team support children, young people and their families/carers with long term health conditions, particularly neurodevelopmental conditions or mental health concerns (with and without diagnosis).
Children’s health and wellbeing navigators
- Support with long-term health needs
- Establishing where the child/young person and their family are in the system and provide support for ongoing needs
- Offer advice, support and guidance through referral process by working alongside relevant agencies
- Support in the interim of referrals through connecting with community assets
- Connect with practice safeguarding leads where there are safeguarding concerns
- Inform and encourage the child/young person and their family to continue to access the CHWN service throughout their journey rather than making GP appointments, where there is a non-clinical concern
Children and young person’s mental health/wellbeing practitioners
- Accessing appropriate services and support within the local community. Sometimes this may include onward referral or signposting to other mental health services (‘CAMHS’), voluntary services, charities, and support groups
- Providing short-term therapeutic interventions for mild to moderate mental health needs
- Supporting children, young people and families with working towards goals which are important to them
- Liaising with other agencies involved, for example schools, to ensure a joined-up approach when supporting the child
How to be referred to our children’s health and wellbeing team
If you feel you would benefit from the support of this team, please let your GP practice know. They will be able to refer you.
Frequently asked questions
Why have I been referred?
Your GP has referred you to us because they feel your child might benefit from conversations about their wellbeing.
We have created this page to give you more information about the support we can provide to you and your child.
The team consists of two Children’s Health and Wellbeing Navigators (CHWNs) and one Children and Young People’s Mental Health Practitioner (CYP MHP).
When will you get in touch?
Your referral is important to us, and we will aim to contact you within approximately 14 days of receiving the referral to the team (please note: this time frame can vary, up to three weeks). We can contact you via telephone, text, or email. If you have a preference, please let your practice know.
If you need urgent support, we have details of who to contact at the end of this page.
How can you help?
Once your GP has referred you, we discuss your needs and allocate you to the most suitable practitioner. We have provided some more information about our services below.
What is the children’s health and wellbeing navigators service?
The Involve Children’s Health and Wellbeing Navigator service (CHWNs) is available at all 10 GP practices in the Weald PCN. The Navigators can support children, young people (ages 0 – 18 and up to 24 for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities [SEND]) and their families/carers where the child has a long-term health condition, particularly Neurodevelopmental issues. For autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or mental health concerns both pre and post diagnosis.
This includes:
- Support families to identify what matters most to them, and connect them to services which would best meet their needs.
- Liaise and build relationships with key contacts, such as schools, SENCOs, school nurses, health visitors, North East London NHS Foundation Trust, community paediatrics, Early Help etc.
- Ensure joined up working for the young person, their family, and colleagues across multiple organisations to ensure a holistic approach to their personalised plan.
Recognising the need for long term support, Navigators come alongside young people and families to understand their concerns and challenges and help to coordinate care and support, access information and guidance and ensure they are aware of and engaged with relevant services and organisations.
What does the children and young people’s mental health practitioner do?
The Children and Young People’s Mental Health Practitioner (CYP MHP North East London NHS Foundation Trust) works across the 10 GP surgeries in the Weald Primary Care Network (WPCN) to provide support, advice, and treatment to young people with mild to moderate mental health or emotional wellbeing difficulties. The CYP MHP can support with:
- Engagement with appropriate services and treatment. Sometimes this may include onward referral or signposting to other mental health services, voluntary services, charities, and support groups, as well as liaising with schools where needed.
- Offer short-term therapeutic interventions for mild to moderate mental health needs.
- Help you better understand your emotional wellbeing and mental health, and work with you to make changes to help you achieve goals which are important to you
Where can I go for urgent support?
If you are worried about your child and need urgent support and advice, you can call the NELFT Single Point of Access on 0800 011 3474, or complete a referral form online
You can also get urgent advice by phoning 111. The 111 service will be able to direct you to the right place to get help.
Where can I go for online support?
- Kooth offers free online counselling and support for young people.
- Kent Resilience Hub provides information, guidance and resources for parents to support their own, as well as their child’s emotional wellbeing and resilience