Funded by City & Hackney Public Health and delivered by ELFT in partnership with Turning Point, the pilot aims to strengthen collaboration between services and improve access to support for people with co-occurring needs.
The launch event, held on 3 October at ELFT’s headquarters, introduced the vision, aims and principles of the pilot and explored how stakeholders can help shape its success.
Speakers included Drew Hawkinson (City & Hackney Public Health), who outlined key national and local strategies; Sofia Carreiro (Turning Point), who shared insights from service users; and Dr Olivier Andlauer, Darryl Springer, Jed Francique, and Lucy Harrison from ELFT, who presented the service model and delivery plans.
Reflecting on the launch, Lucy Harrison, Service Lead, said: “It was wonderful to be joined by key partners from across City & Hackney. This programme will help us support some of the most vulnerable people in our community through a truly joined-up approach.”
The City & Hackney Mental Health and Substance Use Service will be fully operational the week commencing 17/11/2025 and will be staffed by a part-time service lead and two registered mental health nurses who will be co-located at Turning Point’s premises at 102-110 Mare Street, London E8 3SG.
Referrals to the new service can be made by both Turning Point practitioners, partner organisations, in-patient and community mental health teams to the usual Turning Point referral email addresses: CityandHackney@turning-point.co.uk or turningpoint.city-hackney@nhs.net.
The service is designed for residents whose mental health and substance use needs are closely linked and who would benefit from coordinated, specialist support. This includes people experiencing frequent relapses, high or escalating risk, difficulties engaging with services, or complex needs requiring joint care planning.
Referrals will be triaged jointly by the integrated team to agree the most appropriate response, whether that is through joint case planning, direct specialist input, or consultation and advice.