15 November 2022

CNWL is opening a Mental Health Crisis Assessment Service (MHCAS) this month at St Charles Hospital to provide a therapeutic alternative to attending Accident and Emergency (A&E) for those experiencing a Mental Health (MH) crisis this winter. 

The service will open at the end of November in a temporary location at Nightingale Place (in the Older Adults wing of St Charles Hospital), before moving into a dedicated space, which is currently being prepared, within St Charles Hospital.

This means that some patients will move from the Older Adults wards at St Charles to 3 Beatrice Place; just around the corner. This is a temporary arrangement whereby 3 Beatrice Place will offer a stepped down service for those who need continuation of care.

Early in the New Year, following these interim arrangements, the MCHAS will open in a dedicated area in St Charles.

Alongside these changes, the talking therapy service (Community Living Well) currently located at St Charles will move to the Pall Mall Centre. Staff from the Community Living Well Service will still be working from St Charles, but patients may find that they are asked to go to a different location for their appointment. This will be within walking distance of St Charles at the Pall Mall Centre, 150 Barlby Road, W10 6BS. Patients have been informed of this change and if their appointment will be in a different location.

These interim arrangements will help to address wider pressure in the system and support our acute colleagues during winter pressures.

This is a fast-moving project and we understand that this change may cause some uncertainty. Therefore, we want to let you know what’s happening as soon as possible and reassure you that the safety of our patients and staff is of paramount importance in every decision we take.

Once open the new MCHAS will:

  • Reduce mental health attendances in A&Es in central London over the winter
  • Reduce mental health acute inpatient admissions, reducing overall occupancy of mental health acute wards and help eliminate the use of out of area placements (OAPs)
  • Give London Ambulance Service (LAS) and the Police the ability to take people experiencing a mental health crisis directly to the new crisis assessment service, reducing pressure on emergency services. All referrals will go through CNWL’s Single Point of Access
  • Reduce the time taken to be seen and improve the patient experience.