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Single Point of Access (SPA)- Calderdale and Kirklees
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About the service
The Calderdale and Kirklees Single Point of Access team (SPA) ensures that all urgent and routine referrals for Trust mental health services from GPs, and other statutory and third sector referrals are processed and responded to in a timely way, following a triage process.
Read our Single Point of Access team (SPA) report of findings from engagement.
If you are an existing service user or a member of the public looking for urgent help for you or someone you know, please visit our ‘‘help in a crisis’ page.
The team screens all referrals for urgency, i.e. whether they need a response within 4 hours or 14 days or give advice for alternative help. They will refer all those who have been screened to need a 4 response (urgent referral) to the Intensive Home Based Treatment team for a face to face assessment. They will also see some people who need an assessment within 14 days.
Carer information
The Single Point of Access (SPA) team recognises that carers are “experts by experience” with regard to the person for whom they provide day to day support. We are also aware that carers have the insight that enables them to accurately interpret and highlight the early warnings signs that indicate a deterioration in mental health.
We acknowledge that carers will play a pivotal role in the recovery of the people who use our services and our team members are keen to identify carers, at the first point of contact, to enable us to work with them as partners. The personal wellbeing of carers is also important to us and we can take steps to explore individual needs and, with consent, signpost/refer a carer to additional sources of information; guidance and practical assistance including peer support and a safe place to talk.
Please see the following links that offer further information on carer support from and involvement with mental health services:
- Overview of support to service users and carers and other helpful links
- Carer support in your area
- The Trust’s Carers’ Passport
Why would someone choose the service?
- Feedback from Friends & Family Survey indicates that 88% of people would recommend this service (April 2018 – March 2019)
- Improved timeliness, especially for those in need of acute services
- Working in a way that focuses on recovery, promoting hope and optimism
- Access and signposting to other services in the community
- Advice and information
Staff you may meet
- Administrative staff provide essential support to doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. This can be in a variety of different settings, with administrators working as a receptionist in a clinic or a clerk on a ward. They may also be working closely with a consultant as a medical secretary.
- Nurses who choose to specialise in the mental health branch of nursing work with GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, and others, to help care for patients. Increasingly, care is given in the community, with mental health nurses visiting patients and their families at home, in residential centres, in prisons or in specialist clinics or units.
- Social workers help, support and protect people who are facing difficulties in their lives. They help people to take positive steps to overcome problems and improve their lives. This could involve assessing and reviewing a service user’s situation, building relationships with service users and their families and agreeing what practical support someone needs.
Why a professional should choose the service
- The service has been requested by local GPs and other stakeholders such as the council to free up clinical and administrative time
- Fair and equal access to mental health services for all service users
- Standardised referral and assessment process
- Clear, consistent and accessible route of referral for all referrers
- Increased service quality, productivity and efficiency
- Improved relationships with referrers
Support offered
- Screening
- Signposting
- Triage
- Assessment face to face
- Allocation
- Advice
Outcomes
- Fair and equal access to mental health services for all service users
- A clear, consistent and accessible route of referral for all referrers
Referrals accepted from:
AHPs, Carers/family, Courts, GP staff, GPs, Health visitors, Hospital staff, Housing associations, Local authority staff, Midwives, Patients(self-referral), Police, Voluntary services
Referral criteria:
Anyone with a mental health condition in Calderdale and Kirklees can be referred to a service through the single point of access.
Urgent referrals should be made by phone and the referrer should speak to a crisis practitioner from the team, followed up by a written referral.
All other referrals can be submitted by fax or post.