Children and young people who are currently accessing mental health services Children and young people with an existing mental health problem may find changes and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic particularly difficult. The increased stress may lead to a change in their behaviours and their mental health needs. If you are concerned about how to access support if they need to stay at home and self-isolate, consider taking these actions. Speak to the child’s or young person’s mental health team Contact the team to discuss any concerns and check how care will continue to be accessed. Update any safety and care plans as agreed. Identify how the support the child, young person or family normally receives will be maintained Ask if appointments normally offered in person, will now be by phone, text or online or a mixture of these. Ask if there is extra support that the health professional can offer if the child or young person needs it, including how to contact the service if you have any concerns between appointments. Talk to the health professional about what plans are in place and how best to communicate these to the child or young person if you, the child or young person need to stay at home and self-isolate. Plan how you will get the child’s or young person’s medication You might be able to order repeat prescriptions by phone or online using an app or website if your doctor’s surgery offers this. Ask your pharmacy about getting medication delivered or think about who you could ask to collect it for you. The NHS website has information about getting prescriptions for someone else and checking if you have to pay for prescriptions. Continue to order repeat prescriptions in your usual timeframe. There is no need to order for a longer duration or larger quantities. Your general practitioner (GP) might convert a repeat prescription to one that is supplied under the repeat dispensing arrangements. This means you can go back to the pharmacy for a certain number of repeats without having to get a repeat prescription from the practice. Be careful about buying medication online. You should only buy from registered pharmacies. You can check if a pharmacy is registered on the General Pharmaceutical Council website. You might also want to make arrangements for the child or young person if you become unwell or have to isolate – for example, making sure a partner, friend, family member or neighbour is aware of important information including their care plan, medications and emergency numbers. Identify how you will visit or maintain contact with the child or young person if they have been admitted to an inpatient mental health unit Talk to the staff about their policies on visiting and access to digital technology and think about how you can stay in contact, particularly if you have to stay at home and self-isolate. Ask the unit if you could participate in a virtual ward round to keep in touch with the child’s or young person’s mental health team. If the situation in your local area or in the unit changes or, if you need to stay at home and self-isolate this will impact on whether the child or young person can come home on leave. It is important to talk to the child or young person about what might happen so they are fully informed.