Crisis Access Hub

New Mental Health Crisis Access Hub 

From 1 October 2026, South West London and St George's will launch a new 24/7 Crisis Access Hub for adult and older adult mental health crisis referrals from GPs, primary care colleagues and Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs).

The Crisis Access Hub will act as the single point of access for primary care and AMHP referrals into local acute and urgent mental health services, ensuring those experiencing a mental health crisis can be directed to the most appropriate service as quickly as possible.

Contact details

Primary Care and AMHP Colleagues can contact the Crisis Access Hub 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on  020 3513 1777

What is the Crisis Access Hub

The Crisis Access Hub provides a single professional referral route for adult and older adult mental health crisis referrals across South West London.

Rather than referring to individual crisis teams directly, AMHPs, GPs and primary care colleagues can contact the Hub, where referrals are clinically screened and triaged by senior mental health professionals and directed to the most appropriate service based on need.

The Crisis Access Hub is:

  • A professional referral service for mental health crisis referrals
  • A single point of access for adult and older adult crisis referrals across South West London
  • Available to AMHPs, GPs, and primary care colleagues
  • Responsible for clinical screening, triage and pathway coordination
  • Designed to ensure people are referred to the right service at the right time

Referrals may be directed to:

  • Home Treatment Teams (HTTs)
  • Single Point of Access (SPA) services
  • Inpatient services
  • Recovery Cafés
  • Other appropriate mental health pathways

Key points

  • The Crisis Access Hub is not a public-facing service
  • It should not be promoted to patients, carers or members of the public
  • Patients and carers seeking urgent mental health support should continue to contact NHS 111 and select the mental health option
  • This is consistent with the Trust's wider public messaging on accessing urgent mental health support.

How to make a referral

From 1 October 2026, crisis referrals can be made by calling: 020 3513 1777

A senior clinician will:

  • Discuss the referral with you
  • Gather relevant clinical information
  • Undertake an initial screening process
  • Determine the most appropriate pathway or service response
  • Coordinate onward referral where required

This enables immediate clinical discussion, supports effective risk assessment, and helps avoid delays in accessing the most appropriate care.

Information you may be asked to provide

To support timely screening, please have the following information available where possible:

  • Patient demographics and NHS number
  • Contact details
  • Presenting mental health concerns
  • Current risks and safeguarding concerns
  • Relevant medical history
  • Current medication
  • Substance misuse information (where applicable)
  • Details of any recent mental health assessment
  • Immediate safety arrangements

Do GPs need to go through Single Points of Access first?

No. GPs can contact the Crisis Access Hub directly. Following clinical screening, the Hub may refer patients to SPA or another service if this is identified as the most appropriate pathway.

How does the hub support patients?

The Crisis Access Hub has been designed to:

  • Provide consistent crisis referral access for adults and older adults
  • Reduce uncertainty about which service to contact
  • Improve coordination between services
  • Reduce duplication of assessments where appropriate
  • Support timely access to the most suitable intervention
  • Create clearer clinical decision-making at the start of a person's crisis care journey

Where a recent and clinically robust assessment has already been completed, the Hub will work on a trusted assessor basis and seek to avoid unnecessary repetition.

How does the Crisis Access Hub work alongside NHS 111 Mental Health?

The Crisis Access Hub and NHS 111 ‘press 2’ for Mental Health, provide complementary functions within the mental health crisis pathway. NHS 111 remains the main route for:

  • Patients
  • Carers
  • Families
  • Members of the public

People experiencing a mental health crisis, or anyone concerned about someone's mental health, should call 111 and select the mental health option.

NHS 111 provides:

  • Crisis support and advice
  • Telephone assessment
  • Signposting
  • Referral to local services where required
  • Escalation to the Crisis Access Hub if appropriate

Will referrals be rejected if information is incomplete?

No. The Hub operates a "no wrong door" approach. If additional information is required to support safe decision-making, Hub clinicians will gather further information through an enhanced triage process.

Will the Hub repeat an assessment that has already been completed?

Not routinely. Where a recent and appropriate assessment has already been undertaken, the Hub will use this information to inform decision-making and avoid unnecessary duplication wherever possible.

Does the Hub provide face-to-face assessments?

The hub does not provide  face-to-face assessments. The Hub's role is clinical screening, triage, referral management and pathway coordination. Face-to-face assessments will continue to be provided by the relevant receiving service where required.

Further information

Find more information about urgent and non-urgent mental health support: Urgent Help - Website. For enquiries regarding the Crisis Access Hub or referral pathways, please contact Stefanie Grosvenor, Clinical Manager, Crisis Pathway, South West London and St George’s Mental Health Mental Health NHS Trust.

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