Islington Community Core Teams: NLFT

Islington

The North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT, a merger of BEH and CANDI) Islington Community Core Mental Health Teams comprise NHS, social care and voluntary sector staff. The teams operate Monday-Friday (except bank holidays) 9am-5pm.

Urgent referrals should be made by telephone to the Crisis single point of access on 0800 917 3333 or NHS 111 press 2 for mental health.

There are three core teams across the borough (North, Central and South), and the service offers mental health care and support to adults in the community.

This includes:

  • mental health assessment and advice
  • physical health & wellbeing assessment and advice
  • pharmacological treatment
  • psychological assessment, consultation and limited brief support/groups
  • social care and inclusion
  • peer coaching
  • psycho-social support, including from voluntary sector providers
  • health and wellbeing support.

Useful contacts

GPs should continue to contact clinicians for individual patient matters or clinical advice. Advice & guidance request can be emailed to nlft.islington.MHCT@nhs.net

See Service Feedback below if you have any service operational issues.


Eligibility Criteria

Inclusions

The service will accept referrals for adults (aged 17.5+ at the time of the referral being received to support their transition at the age of 18 into the service) who are a resident of Islington.

This includes but is not exclusive to:

  • people with complex anxiety and mood-related disorders that are too severe for iCope and primary care to manage, or where severe functional impairment is apparent
  • people with chronic or severe mental illness for whom specialist services are not appropriate or required who have previously been under the care of intensive services and been discharged or disengaged but there are significant concerns
  • people with medically unexplained symptoms in relation to mental and physical health
  • people with co-morbid substance misuse and mental illness.

The Core Team may receive referrals where people are registered with an Islington GP but live out of the borough. In those cases, the core team will facilitate onward referral to the local team in which the person lives.

There may be occasions where the person being referred has made a Right to Choose decision in conjunction with their Islington GP and the team will consider these on a case by case basis.

Exclusions

  • memory problems secondary to organic/cognitive impairment
  • people with a known or indicated learning disability beyond the scope of mainstream mental health services should be directed to the appropriate borough-based Learning Disabilities Partnership
  • referrals for ADHD or autistic spectrum assessment and diagnosis in the absence of another mental health need
  • requires a crisis service at the point of referral to the Core Team.

How to Refer

EMIS form

Referral methods: Email

Complete the Islington Mental Health Core & Practiced Based Teams Referral Form and send it to nlft.islington.MHCT@nhs.net

Where to find the form

  • Islington: ISL Global Documents > Mental Health > Islington Mental Health

Locations

North & Central core teams

South core team

Service Feedback



Review date: Wednesday, 04 February 2026