Children and Young People Mental Health Services

Care Quality Commission logo above text that reads: ‘Children and Young People’s Inpatient Mental Health Services in Leeds and York.’ Below, the heading ‘CQC overall rating’ appears with a green circle and the word ‘Good’. Text at the bottom reads ‘February 2026’, with a button labelled ‘See the report’.We provide specialist mental health care for children, adolescents, and young people across Leeds, York, and West Yorkshire. Our aim is to help children and young people live healthy, fulfilling lives by offering compassionate, evidence-based support tailored to their needs. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated our Child and Adolescent mental health wards as Good on 25 February 2026.

Who We Support

Our services are for:

  • Children and young people under 18
  • Families and carers who need advice and support

What We Offer

We provide a range of mental health services, including:

  • Assessment and diagnosis for emotional, behavioural, and neurodevelopmental difficulties
  • Therapeutic interventions such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), family therapy, and trauma-focused approaches
  • Specialist support for conditions like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, ADHD, and autism
  • Inpatient and community care for those who need more intensive support

Urgent Help

If you or someone you know needs immediate medical help, call 999. If you’re not sure what to do, visit NHS 111 online, call 111 and select option 2 for mental health, or visit our Urgent Help page.

Services by phone

Area Service Name Hours of operation Phone Number
Leeds Leeds Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service Crisis Call Line 8am – 8pm 7 days Freephone: 0800 953 0505
Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale or Craven First Response Crisis Service Available 24 hours a day 0800 952 1181
Wakefield Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service Response and Crisis Help Team Monday – Sunday, 9am – 8pm 0197 773 5865
Calderdale Single Point of Access Available 24 hours a day 0142 230 0001
Kirklees Single Point of Access Available 24 hours a day 0300 304 5555
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS 111, option 2 Available 24 hours a day 111
All areas Night Owls – Overnight Listening/ Advice Service 8pm – 8am 7 days
  • Freephone: 0800 1488 244
  • Text – 07984 376 950
  • Or online chat (link below)
All areas Papyrus – HOPELINEUK Available 24 hours a day
  • Freephone: 0800 068 41 41
  • Text: 07786209697

Other sources of support (non-crisis)

Working Together

We work closely with families, schools, and partner organisations to ensure care is holistic and accessible. Your voice matters, young people and families help shape our services.

Explore Our Services

  • Children and Young People’s Mental Health Inpatient Service – Red Kite View
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Inpatient Unit – Mill Lodge
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health Day Service – Willow View

Resources and Support

  • Advice for parents and carers
  • Self-help tools and apps
  • Information about waiting times and what to expect

Our Service’s Principles

We are young person-centred

We will ensure that young people are involved in their care planning and treatment. We will help young people to achieve independence and well-being and will respect them. We work non-judgmentally with regard to a young person’s religious beliefs and culture. We are responsive to disability, gender, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, spiritual, cultural, religious, physical, and sensory needs.

We are assessment and formulation led

Outcomes for young people are better in the community and an inpatient admission should be a last resort. Sometimes however, an admission is the only option, to provide safe and effective care. We will ensure that presenting problems are assessed comprehensively, a formulation is developed, and that clear recommendations are made for how care can be continued in the community when possible.

We are psychologically driven

A psychological formulation explores the impact of the difficulties with which a young person presents. Young people will be supported to make changes in their lives such as managing behaviours and emotions while improving relationships and reducing unhelpful coping strategies.

We are trauma informed

We consider how trauma is widespread and causal in the development of mental health problems. We are committed to reducing the use of restrictive interventions, prioritising trustworthiness and transparency. We develop collaborative relationships with young people and our strengths-based approach sees symptoms as understandable attempts to cope with trauma and its consequences.

We are supportive of staff wellbeing and development

It is recognised that work in an inpatient CYPMH service is emotive and challenging and that staff need high quality and ongoing training, supervision and support. Staff will also have access to reflective practice that enables effective working, personal and professional development and which promotes staff wellbeing.

We are systemic

The service will develop a holistic and systemic approach, recognising the impact of family, friends, community professionals and school in a young person’s experience and understanding that environment cannot be separated from a young person’s mental wellbeing.

We are aware of the importance of families and carers

Care planning will involve families and carers as far as is appropriate. This will be integrated into the care planning and communication processes for the service. Families and carers will also be invited to influence the design, development, and delivery of the service.

We are integrated

The inpatient service is one aspect of the CYPMHS pathway; it is necessary to consider the purpose of an inpatient admission in the context of the overall offer for children, young people and families. Inpatient admissions should be an extension of community work and not a separate intervention and the team will work closely with community services and partner agencies.

We are a learning organisation

Inpatient services work with small, complex populations. It is essential that we promote an understanding of how and why young people are referred and admitted. This will enable us to identify patterns, themes and anomalies which will inform future best practice.

The service will seek to develop opportunities for innovative practice based on our learning in a safe and constructive manner. Innovation will be a consistent consideration and clinical governance will provide a structure to ensure all developments are thoroughly considered in implementation and evaluation.

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Page last updated: 26th Feb 2026 6:17pm

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