The South of Tyne Intensive Community Treatment Service (ICTS) – working in partnership with the Crisis Team, Initial Response Team, Street Triage and Psychiatric Liaison Team - was established in 2012. It provides extended hours, same day assessment for children and young people presenting with acute and complex mental health problems.
The South of Tyne Intensive Community Treatment Service (ICTS) – working in partnership with the Crisis Team, Initial Response Team, Street Triage and Psychiatric Liaison Team – was established in 2012. It provides extended hours, same day assessment for children and young people presenting with acute and complex mental health problems. The service takes referrals of new patients from the adult and paediatric emergency departments, community or those already in community services. Other functions of the service include providing a period of more intensive support when children and young people have been discharged from inpatient care. The service also provides in-reach into local acute hospitals for the assessment and management of children and young people who have been admitted, those who have significant mental health needs, and/or where associated risks have been identified as requiring further assessment (for example, following an incident of self-harm).
The ICTS is part of the children and young person’s community services. Joint working arrangements are in place with adult crisis and liaison psychiatry services. Young people aged over 16 years are seen by crisis or liaison psychiatry and then have a review within seven days by staff specialising in work with children and young people regardless of clinical presentation, if further input is needed this is arranged.
Currently the Sunderland Psychiatric Liaison Team works in partnership with the children and young people’s ICTS regarding under 16 year olds, this provision will change from an in-reach service to a dedicated on-site service in 2017.
Street triage services see individuals of all ages (7% are under 16 years).
Outside of ICTS’ core operating hours the local universal single point of access, the Initial Response Team, takes calls across the remainder of the 24-hour period. Clinical triage within this service is typically provided by a band 6 adult mental health clinician. If the situation suggests low imminent risks, the clinician will offer initial advice and support as well as arranging follow-up contact from the ICTS service. In more complex or potentially higher risk situations they will seek support from the on-call children and young people’s consultant to develop the triage and immediate management options. Developments are already planned to establish specialist children and young people’s clinicians within the current Core 24+ Liaison Psychiatry Service in the Sunderland area, further enhancing the flexibility and options for timely, skilled assessment of children and young people presenting to local services with urgent and emergency mental health needs.
| Operating hours | 24/7 access
Assessment and home treatment/ acute liaison in-reach 8am-9.30pm Monday- Friday and 10am-6pm weekends |
| Age range | Up to 18 years |
| Geographical area covered | South Tyneside and Sunderland local authority areas |
| Approximate size of 0-18 population | 100,000 |
| Referrals received per year | 482 (April 2015/March 2016) |
| No. referrals seen per year | 405 (April 2015/March 2016) |
| % referrals 9am-5pm | Data not available |
| % referrals 5pm-midnight | Data not available |
| Midnight – 9am | Data not available |
| Response time | Same day assessment- no further data available |
| Workforce | 8.2 WTE band 6 nurses
1 WTE band 7 clinical lead 2 WTE band 5 nurses 1 WTE band 3 support worker Consultant input 9-5 duty medic Consultant access on-call, weekends and 5pm-9am during the week |
| Team contact | Angela O’Dell, Team Manager |
