Specialist Triage, Assessment and Referral Team (START)
The Specialist Triage Assessment Referral and Treatment Team (START) provides timely triage, assessment, onward referral/signposting and treatment for service users referred without the need for multiple assessments.
The team screens and assesses the needs of all referrals and signposts on to other services, creating a seamless and timely care pathway. The team provide functions which include ongoing assessment, brief interventions and a case management function for some service users.
Through START all referring Lancashire GPs will have access to consultant opinion for advice, guidance and assessment following an initial screening.
The START team comprises of:
Consultant Psychiatrists and other medical staff
Mental Health Practitioners
Nurses
Social Workers
Psychologists input
Occupational therapy input
Administrative staff
How to access the service
We accept referrals from a range of sources including:
GPs and other primary care health professionals
Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
Mindsmatter services
Community Restart Team
Carer of patient relative
Self-referral including self-presentation
Other professionals such as health visitors and social workers
Probation Service
Third party and voluntary organisations
Out of hours
START operates core hours between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday during a standard working week.
After 4.30pm and out of hours, the home treatment practitioner will act as the duty START practitioner.
When a person contacts the team out of hours in need of help, the practitioner will support the person as follows:
Triage of all referrals, gather additional information as required and decide on the most appropriate pathway
Telephone advice and support will be offered if there is no clear or immediate risk to self or others identified
Face to face assessment may be offered or signposted. Where local resources make it possible, this assessment will be offered during the out of hours period
Where an out of hours face to face assessment is either not available or not required an assessment/referral will be passed to the appropriate team. This referral will be made as soon as practical and ideally before the end of the practitioner’s shift
When service users present in crisis and express the concern that they do not feel able to keep themselves safe and no face to face assessment is available the practitioner should advise the service user or carers to call emergency services or to present themselves to A&E.