BOOKING AN APPOINTMENT

How to arrange an appointment

• Ask your GP for a referral letter, either addressed to myself or as an open referral to child psychiatry.
• I am happy to accept referral letters from private GP services. However your child must be registered with an NHS GP practice and any assessment reports must be shared with the NHS practice.
  
• If covered by a medical insurance policy, you will need to know the membership number and authorization code.
  
• Complete the Initial Enquiry Questionnaire using the link below. This will create a record for your child.
  
• I will then contact you by e-mail to let you know if I can help, and if so I will send you a link to book an appointment.
  

Due to high demand over recent months I am not currently able to take on new patients for assessment.

Please also be aware

• I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist so work with children and teenagers up to age 18
• I am able to offer ADHD assessments but not Autism Spectrum Disorder assessments - if you are looking for an ASD assessment then you will need to look for a different doctor or clinic to carry this out.
• I cannot offer an emergency service. If you are seeking help in an emergency then you will need to access NHS services including your GP, Accident and Emergency, NHS 111 or 999.​ 

When booking an appointment you will be able to choose between face-to-face appointments at Forest Therapy Centre (South Woodford), or at Prittlewell House (Southend), or video appointments using the Semble video call system.

If you are arranging an ADHD assessment, then following the initial assessment interview there are two diagnostic tests that are used: Conners-4 symptom questionnaires completed by a parent, a teacher and the young person, and QBcheck biometric test of attention and concentration taken by the young person. These tests are carried out online. Following the tests a follow-up appointment is needed to discuss the results, conclusions and treatment options where appropriate.

The fee for the test package (Conners-3 questionnaires and QBcheck) is £225. This is in addition to the cost of the initial interview and follow-up appointment and is invoiced separately. If you have health insurance you should check with your insurer whether the appointments, the tests or both are covered by your policy.

What to expect

I believe that young people should be treated with respect. Their concerns should be heard and taken seriously, and their own questions answered. It's helpful to meet young people together with their parents, however if they also wish to have some time to speak to me in confidence then this is always possible. During the assessment I will have to ask a lot of questions some of which may be personal. Young people can always tell me if they don't wish to answer a question.

The first appointment is for assessment. It's always an hour long. The young person and both parents should attend if possible. Most of the assessment involves asking and answering questions, however sometimes a physical examination may be needed. In most cases I will be able to complete the assessment and give an opinion at the first appointment, but very occasionally if the situation is complex then more time might be needed to complete an assessment.

Follow-up appointments are usually half an hour long but can also be booked for an hour if needed. A follow-up appointment may be needed to continue with a more complex the assessment, or to provide further advice if the situation has changed. If medication is prescribed then follow-up appointments are needed to monitor the effectiveness of the treatment, to manage any side effects that may occur, and to help decide whether to continue, change or stop treatment.

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