What is mental health?
We all have mental health. It affects how we think, feel and behave, and determines how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices. Our mental health can change over time. Some people call mental health ’emotional health’ or ‘ wellbeing’. In the same way that sometimes we get physically sick with a cold or flu, sometimes we get mentally ill too.
What are mental health problems?
Changes in mental health are very common, for example with the stresses and strains of life. But if these changes don’t go away, and start to affect our everyday life, this can lead to problems with our mental health and can lead to mental illness. Over the course of your life, if you have mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behaviour could be affected. Many factors contribute to mental health problems, including our genes and life experiences.
What is mental illness?
The term mental illness is used to describe diagnosable mental health problems. This is when you experience problems with your mental health that interfere with your life and meet criteria set out by health professionals.
How common are mental health problems?
Anyone can experience problems with their mental health from mild stress to diagnosable mental health problems, and it is thought that at any one time at least 1 person in 6 is experiencing a mental health condition. Half of all mental health problems are thought to start to before the age of 14.
Mental health problems are common but help is available. People with mental health problems can get better and many recover completely.
YOUnited offers help to children and young people with their emotional wellbeing and mental health registered with a GP in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
It is available to those up to the age of 25 and offers a range of support including therapies, counselling and guided self-help.
Referrals can be made to YOUnited by a GP or any professional working with children or young people.
Referral information can be found on the CPFT website and on the next page of this briefing.
All referrals are triaged and assessed by specialist staff from YOUnited who then work with children and young people, as well as their family or carers if necessary, on the best pathway to support their needs.
The YOUnited referral hub only accepts professional referrals. Young people between 17 and 25 can self-refer to Centre 33.
YOUnited is a partnership involving: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust, Centre 33, and Ormiston Families. Young people have been instrumental in helping co-design the service.
Referral information
The following information is for briefing purposes only and links can change. For the most up-to-date information visit the Referral information for professionals | CPFT NHS Trust.
From 1 July 2021, YOUnited will provide emotional wellbeing and mental health help for children and young people aged 0 to 25 registered with a GP in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
From 1 July 2021, YOUnited will be used for all referrals to CPFT’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
YOUnited help – 0 to 17
The YOUnited integrated hub accepts referrals from all professionals working with children and young people up to the age of 17 with emotional wellbeing and mild, moderate or severe mental health needs.
YOUnited will also accept referrals for children and young people up to the age of 18 with a suspected eating disorder or with a neurodevelopmental diagnosis. (Information about referrals for a new neurodevelopmental diagnosis is below).
It is recommended that GPs use the CCG e-referral system to make their referral (the information is the same)
For SystmOne practices – use the GP portal on SystmOne to refer.
For EMIS practices and for all other professionals: Make a referral to YOUnited here
YOUnited help – 18 to 25
Young people aged 18 to 25 can self refer to Centre 33 here or to Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire Mind here.
GPs can make referrals for mental health assessments to CPFT’s Primary Care Mental Health Service.
YOUnited help for Neurodevelopmental diagnosis
Peterborough – YOUnited accepts referrals for assessment for children aged from 5 to 18 years-old.
Peterborough Integrated Neurodiagnostic-Referral-form-August-2021.docx [docx] 197KB
Cambridgeshire, Huntingdon and Fenland: YOUnited accepts referrals for young people of secondary school age.
Cambridgeshire Neurodiagnostic-Referral-form-August-2021 (003).docx [docx] 198KB
Referrals for primary age children should be made to Cambridgeshire Community Service’s community paediatricians.
Crisis referrals
If a young person is in mental health crisis contact CPFT’s First Response Service by calling NHS 111 (option 2).
People in Wisbech have not got the option 2 but can access the service via dialling 111. The call handler will then transfer them direct to the FRS (First Response Service) service.
Contacting YOUnited
Clinicians and administration staff are available 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays).
Contact number and email for professionals only for discussion and consultation of non-crisis referrals: 0300 3000 830 or younited@cpft.nhs.uk.