Celebrating 20 Years of National Deaf CAMHS Northern Arm: A Potted History 20 Years This Year!

It’s a special year for the National Deaf CAMHS Northern Arm as we celebrate two decades of dedication, support, and progress. Over the years, we've grown into more than just a team—we’ve become a family. Let’s take a moment to reflect on our journey, from humble beginnings to where we are today, and to look ahead at the exciting future that awaits us.

We began in a small portacabin with just six staff, later expanding to an extension at Lime Trees. Today, we’re based at the University of York, while the Newcastle team remains in its original building, the Manchester team, however, will be relocating to the Carol Kendrick Unit within the next twelve months.

Pre-COVID, the team spent countless hours travelling for home visits, school assessments, and professional meetings across the North. We carried our ADOS kits and bags through endless journeys between York, Manchester, and Newcastle—those were the days!

Although staff have come and gone over the years, they’ve taken the spirit of Deaf CAMHS with them—helping to spread our culture, values, and expertise wherever they go. Our influence has travelled far and wide, reaching conferences and professional gatherings across the globe, including Madrid, Lisbon, Tenerife, Wrexham, Edinburgh, Dublin, Belfast, Amsterdam, Lund, and Haarlem.

What We’re Proud Of:

  • Developing and empowering our staff with career progression opportunities
  • Working tirelessly to foster a strong bicultural, bilingual team
  • Embracing video technology to enhance accessibility and reach hard to reach families
  • Making a national impact and raising awareness about language deprivation
  • Developing safeguarding policies specifically for deaf children
  • Engaging in groundbreaking research projects and sharing our work internationally
  • Contributing to international journals such as the International Journal of Mental Health and Deafness (IJMHD)

The Challenges We Faced:

  • Navigating cultural differences: NHS vs non-NHS, Deaf vs Hearing
  • Starting out as ‘experts’ in a field where we still had so much to learn
  • Building relationships while confronting outdated practices
  • The endless travel—visiting homes, schools, and professionals across the region
  • Adapting to technology, from early tele-links to modern video platforms
  • Operating out of portacabins, cramped offices, and awaiting promises of better spaces
  • Battling NHS systems like Care Director—especially with all the connectivity issues remotely!

The Next 20 Years…

As we embark on the next 20 years, our vision remains clear. We will continue to grow, innovate, and strengthen our impact by focusing on:

  • Nurturing a strong, inclusive culture
  • Achieving 100% cultural concordance within our teams
  • Developing diverse staff, including deaf leaders, and providing growth opportunities
  • Expanding the evidence base for our assessments and interventions, with a focus on language deprivation
  • Building sustainable infrastructure and deaf-friendly spaces
  • Improving travel and outreach capabilities
  • Extending our services to support a wider age range
  • Continuing to influence and collaborate both nationally and internationally

Dr Sara Munro, Chief Executive

“I had a great session with the NDCAMHS service when I visited them. What struck me was how much they have evolved, grown and developed the service over the 20 years they have been in existence – the approach to multi-disciplinary team working is an exemplar model, and the expansion to 18-25 is a good example of how they are responding to the needs of the people who use the services, identifying where there are gaps and helping to fill those.  I have no doubt there will be the same focus on innovation and improvement in the coming years.”

Professor Barry Wright, the founder of the Northern Arm service, shared a video of his thoughts with us at our last away day—don’t worry, even though Barry is signing, there is a voiceover and captions for signing-impaired viewers.

Please take some time to watch—it’s an inspiring video for us, and we hope it will be for you too.

Here’s to the next 20 years of innovation, dedication, and making a difference in the lives of deaf children and young people. We’re proud of where we’ve been, and even more excited about where we’re going!