child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)

(Pronounced 'cams'.) This term is commonly used as a broad concept that includes all services that contribute to the mental healthcare of children and young people. As well as specialist services, this definition includes universal services whose primary function is not mental healthcare, such as GPs and schools. This explicitly acknowledges that supporting children and young people with mental health problems is not the responsibility of specialist services alone. 'CAMHS' is sometimes used more narrowly to refer only to specialist CAMHS (in other words, services operating at tiers 2, 3 and 4 of the four-tier strategic framework).