Research Report

Murphy, L., Hayes, S., Dempsey, M.,Young,M., & Kennelly, J

2022

March

Single Point of Access: Pathway to Mental Services Evaluation of the Specialist Mental Health Assessment Unit

Author

Validated

0

()

Single point of assessment Specialist mental health assessment service Referral pathways Service user experience

Service evaluation study for HSE

This report details the evaluation of a new service development within the Kerry Mental Health Services: the Specialist Mental Health Assessment Unit (SMHAU). The SMHAU was initially established in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic e.g. staff resources and infection control (March, 2020; WHO, 2020). It streamlined the referral pathway into the secondary mental health services so that it followed a single point of access (SPA) model. This evaluation examined the impact that the SMHAU had on patient access to the mental health service, referral agents and key stakeholders. It also examined the impact on the hospital system via the number of patients presenting to the A&E department for psychiatric assessment, psychiatric inpatient unit admissions and bed occupancy days.

Kerry, Ireland

HSE

Health Service Executive

17,161e