CAMHS – Current Waiting Times

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It can be difficult waiting for support having been referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). We are committed to seeing children and young people as soon as possible and strive to keep our waiting times as low as possible, however these can depend on the current demand for services and staffing levels.

We aim to provide open and clear information about waiting times for each of the services you may be waiting to access.

The below tables provide the average waiting times from referral to first contact with the service, which will most likely be a triage call. During a triage call, a member of the CAMHS team will assess your child’s needs and determine the urgency and appropriate course of action. After this you may be offered a further appointment (this can be a for a comprehensive assessment or intervention via telephone, video, or face-to-face appointment).

Please note that these are average wait times and, therefore, you may find yourself seen sooner or later than estimated. Several factors can influence how long you may wait to be seen, and cases are triaged to identify anyone who may be at a higher risk and require an appointment sooner.

If you are referred into Core CAMHS for a neurodevelopmental (ND) assessment (i.e., for ADHD or Autism) your wait times will be longer than those referred in for a non-ND condition due to the current demand. The reported wait times below are separated into Core CAMHS appointments (non-ND) and ND appointments across the three localities that we serve (Manchester, Trafford, and Salford).

MFT Core CAMHS Waiting Times (Excluding ND referrals)

MFT CAMHS Neurodevelopmental Waiting Times

MFT CAMHS is commissioned to provide ADHD and Autism assessments across some of our footprint.

The Manchester Core CAMHS teams manage their ADHD pathways within their Core offer, whilst Autism referrals are managed by the Social Communication Pathway, an autism assessment service that sits alongside Manchester’s Core CAMHS teams.

The wait times provided below reflect the average time from referral to the first meaningful contact (i.e. assessment, either by telephone, video, or face-to-face). As these times are averages, you may be seen sooner or later than the times given.

Salford

Management of both the ADHD and Autism pathways is held by Salford

Council’s Neurodevelopment Assessment Pathway. Referrals are made to the ND pathway and passed to CAMHS once accepted where there are co-occurring mental health needs.

The wait times provided below reflect the average time from referral to the first meaningful contact (i.e. assessment, either by telephone, video, or face-to-face). As these times are averages, you may be seen sooner or later than the times given.

Trafford

The management of both the Autism and ADHD pathways within Trafford sits with the Trafford Local Care Organisation (TLCO). Trafford’s Core CAMHS team provides support to both pathways alongside Community Paediatrics and accept ADHD referrals where there are complex mental health needs. Currently, all Autism referrals are dealt with by the TLCO.

The wait times provided below are for referrals received by Trafford CAMHS only and reflect the average time from referral to the first meaningful contact (i.e. assessment, either by telephone, video, or face-to-face). As these times are averages, you may be seen sooner or later than the times given.

If you have been referred to the TLCO and not CAMHS, please contact the TLCO for information on their wait times and refer to our waiting well offer.