Waythrough/SLaM Crisis House

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) intends to follow the Most Suitable Provider Process to award Waythrough the contract to deliver the "Waythrough/SLaM Crisis House" project. This contract involves the operation of a six-bed, 24/7 adult recovery house, providing a therapeutic alternative to Emergency Department attendance or inpatient admission for adults in crisis across Croydon, Lambeth, Southwark, and Lewisham.

Following the Most Suitable Provider Process will ensure continuity and efficiency of the existing adult recovery house already run by Waythrough in Lewisham, which will be relocated to Croydon. Waythrough staff have been working with SLaM the deliver this model for over two years; they are embedded in the Trust's governance processes and clinical systems, are familiar with the Trust's procedures and protocols, and have established ways of working and relationships with the Trust's clinical teams. Following this process will ensure seamless operation and avoid causing a gap in provision for our service users and carers.

The Trust is awarding the contract for two years to consolidate the recovery house provision without disrupting patient care and plans to review in totality thereafter. The current adult recovery house provision has beds ringfenced for the Lewisham N2 Pilot from Autumn 2025. As this model is live and there is significant utilisation and demand for trust-wide adult recovery house services, it would be disruptive to patient care to follow a full procurement process and would cause a gap in critical provision. SLaM has conducted a comprehensive review of the current adult recovery house provided by Waythrough, in addition to a market review. The findings of these reviews provide SLaM with confidence that this is the most suitable supplier.