Update on inpatient and enhanced specialist community (Tier 4) Deaf CAMHS at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust – Ashton Ntuli, Chief Operating Officer, South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust
“A BSL version of this message is available here (and via the QR code below): Update on inpatient and enhanced specialist community (Tier 4) Deaf CAMHS at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust
In November, we shared an update on the future of Corner House, our inpatient Deaf CAMHS service, which has provided much-valued specialist inpatient mental health care for deaf children and young people for many years.
Since then, we have continued to actively take part in NHS England’s review of this service, alongside deaf young people, families, clinicians and community representatives to shape the future of the service. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and ideas.
A clear message from this work has been the importance of providing specialist support closer to home, families and local communities. This reflects the direction of the NHS 10 Year Plan and the way Corner House has been used in recent years. Referrals to the inpatient service have remained very low, while our specialist deaf community mental health team receives around 200 referrals each year.
The outcome of the NHS England Review is that specialist Deaf CAMHS will move towards a strengthened community and outreach model across England, rather than a national inpatient service with limited use. We believe this will allow our specialist expertise to reach more deaf children and young people, provide earlier support, and have a greater impact.
The inpatient service at Corner House will therefore close, with its funding invested in expanding our local specialist community services in all four regions of England (South East, Central, North and South West) from July 2026. There will continue to be a clear pathway to inpatient care when needed, with strong links between community and inpatient services in each region. This means that if a deaf young person needs to be admitted to a mental health inpatient unit, the nearest regional teams will provide training and support to ensure the inpatient team can meet their language and cultural needs.
We will share further details about the enhanced community service later this year. In the meantime, if you require specialist Deaf CAMHS support, please contact your local team – details are available here.
We want to recognise the remarkable contribution Corner House has made over many years. The expertise, compassion and commitment of our staff, alongside the support of the Deaf community, families and partners, have created a service that has changed lives. While the model of care is changing, that specialist expertise remains at the heart of the service, helping ensure more deaf children and young people can benefit from it in the future.
Thank you for your continued support as we begin this next chapter for specialist Deaf CAMHS.”
