Child & Adolescent Mental Health Camhs 5-7 Rush Court, Bedford MK40 3JT

"Appalling service i was in A crisis I rang them they said the crisis team will call me back and they didn't even bother to ring me back been waiting all day disgusting service very angry thanks alot"

"obviously under funded & outdated methods for treatment. they operate like a revolving door, in and out to make space for someone else- making it difficult to fully recover and easy to relapse. certain workers do genuinely care, but generally it is clear they are underpaid and as they treat so many kids, i think they can become insensitive. at one point I was very sick and didn’t have the ability to realise the way I was being spoken to wasn’t okay, but I was told things like ‘if you were really suicidal you would’ve done it by now’, which I took as literal encouragement to commit. when someone’s ill saying something like this makes them think they aren’t ill enough to be acknowledged or validated, or don’t deserve the treatment, which definitely was not the case, leading me to want to prove them wrong. i was very underweight but as I was quite young and still growing and having difficulties beyond just my mental health, they classed the weight loss as stress. it was so clear i had an eating disorder but they seemed to dismiss this; I’m unclear whether this was because it would complicate my treatment more or they were just uneducated on the signs of eating disorders. considering I refused food and was giving an ng tube you’d think they would’ve realised. i was never treated in the beginning so i still have this issue. i’m aware in the ed team, they mostly care about weight restoration before tacking the reasons behind the ed. considering it is first and foremost a mental health facility, they should be looking at the mental side of ed’s and trying to develop a healthy relationship with food from there, weighing people reinforces the relevance of weight which causes an ed in the first place. in my opinion it is just simply an unintelligent approach. there is definitely an overuse of therapy. i was in a very sensitive state, and therapy is not suitable when someone’s still actively dealing with an issue as it reignites things that aren’t settled yet. i said this multiple times, and was forced into sessions where they’d ask me about things that were really private to me, and things I hadn’t worked through in my head yet. they also avoid medicating kids. i understand why they avoid this with young kids, but actually medication can be really useful and should not be overlooked. when I left camhs, i managed to get medication elsewhere and since then have got a lot better. i also got given ultimatums around medication being told id only be given antidepressants if I gained weight- which goes without saying is awful to say to someone who’s got so much going on."

"Made me feel worse and told me to actually try harder with my next attempt when I was 12 I’m still with them and nothing has changed it’s an awful place!"

"They’re not the best but I know that they’re massively overstretched. They do eventually give most people help it’s just how long you have to wait and the quality of whatever treatment they decide is best."

"TERRIBLE..the kids are meant to get suppt for 6 weeks then a decide on whether they need further help Well, I waited almost a year to get to these people for my daughter, and then she has 3 sessions and as her Suppt worker was due to leave she was meant to be given a new worker, but, oh no, instead the manager said my daughter no longer needs help Despite the fact she seriously self harms, has severe anxiety, eating disorder, and suicidal thoughts and collapsed at work due to a mass panic attack, and looks after me, as I am disabled, she is ok? It is because she manages to still get up and go to sixth form , and manages to go to work, and not lay around all day in her room They are not here though at 2 am in the morning being woken up to screaming and hearing banging, which is my daughter bashing herself against the wall The worker has seen the large negative wording on my daughters thighs, and cuts on stomach, and arms, sever cuts, not little, and yet she and us have been left...?? Ok, so they wonder why sadly so many kids and teenagers kill themselves? Hmm, as there is no support..as what is the point of saying you will work with that person for 6 weeks, and then after 3 sessions say BYE?? It was not even 6 weeks, as it started end of May, and due to the worker having leave a cple of times, from May til Mid July she was seen 3 times...what a joke The NHS has gone to the dogs, and this lack of help proves how much the dogs have eaten it up If your child needs help, do not depend on CAMHS as they DO NOT CARE"