Share review of Community Services - Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Community Services - Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 2022-12-12 Person 4 5 0

I have been going to sessions at camhs with my daughter. They were understanding that she was not ready to go to appointments herself. They included her in conversation even though she was non verbal, they still spoke to her like a human being rather than over her. Obviously I was answering questions for her but they’d check to see if she agreed with what I was saying. They allowed her to write things down if she could to help express what she was thinking/feeling. Thrr we y understood that there were other difficulties in regards to health issues that meant appointments didn’t always go to plan. It wasn’t all serious and straight down to business, there were jokes and things to make my daughter feel at ease. My concerns were also taken into account. This is aimed at Dr [name removed] for being a kind and patient person even if most the time I made no sense. I feel that she was a good fit for my daughter. So thank you.

Obviously going for the first time to cahms in Northampton is overwhelming for any child but also the career / parent. From going to book in, you’d think you would just be able to say the person you’re seeing and at what time, but no they needed my daughters full name also. And while this may not be a problem for some, not everyone wants their name shared allowed. The reception staff didn’t seem friendly or welcoming, and if there was a volunteer that day she was more flustered than anything. If you have a patent/career who themselves have any mental health problems this is frustrating. You can hear what the reception staff are talking about be that making appointments to medication that children are on. And then discussing it between themselves, which you can hear while you’re waiting. Also the door where the staff use their cards to go through too near the water cooler, is very noisy when it’s getting open and shut numerous times, it is quite a loud bang. And any child with additional needs or sensory issues may have a hard time listening to that. I know me and my daughter did, it doesn’t make for a calming experience for an already nerve wracking appointment. Rooms were also an issue, rooms that were pre booked had already been occupied and then had to wait til the people using it were finished. Sometimes it was a struggle to get a room even though there was obviously a booking system. When it was the height of summer, the air conditioning in one room didn’t work for 2 weeks which wasn’t fun. On one occasion a staff member was wearing a too that was as showing her midriff and not in a discreet way and this wasn’t in summer time, it looked rather crass and I feel a child who has body image issues may not want to see that.