27 September 2023

Professor Mike Crawford, Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at CNWL’s Single Point of Access (SPA) Service, says:

“Our SPA has reduced the time it takes for people in a mental health crisis to get support; access to urgent mental health support is one of the top priorities of people who have poor mental health. 

“In August we took almost 5,000 calls – our highest ever; staff answer compassionately and take a trauma informed approach.

“Following feedback about how long it can take to get through to someone at SPA, we monitored answer times, shared data with staff and changed shift patterns so there were more staff working at the busiest times.

“From this work, we have achieved a 50% reduction in the time it takes for patients to get through to a member of the SPA team; from 4 mins 46 secs in March 2023, to 2 mins 19 secs in August 2023.

The results are shown in this diagram (also in the image below).

3 graphs showing the data of the calls made to SPA compared to calls answered directly.jpg

The Single Point of Access is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Call us on 0800 0234 650 or email cnw-tr.spa@nhs.net

SPA provides one number and one email address for referrals to secondary mental health services and support in a mental health crisis in Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, and Milton Keynes (out of hours).

Visit our SPA web page for more information