Helping teams prepare for Single Point of Access services

In July, the NENC Provider Collaborative held two Single Point of Access (SPOA) learning sessions. The sessions were for teams at University Hospitals Tees (UHT) and County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT). They aimed to help teams get ready for the national rollout of SPOA services in October 2026.

Staff from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust led the sessions. These included Dr Matthew Warren, Consultant Gastroenterologist, and Richard Sterry, Head of Operations and Performance. They spoke about their own SPOA service and shared what they have learned along the way.

Doctors, nurses, managers and other staff took part in the sessions. People asked questions, shared ideas and talked about different ways to set up a SPOA service. There was good discussion throughout.

The Northumbria team gave honest feedback about what went well and what challenges they faced. This helped other organisations learn from their experience and think about how SPOA could work in their own services.

Feedback from those who attended was very positive. Many said the sessions were useful and gave them ideas they can use in their own work. The sessions also showed how working together can help teams make changes and improve services for patients across the North East and North Cumbria.

Want to learn more about SPOA and hear from teams already using it? In the NENC Providers Podcast, Dr Matthew Warren and Richard Sterry share Northumbria's SPOA journey. They talk about what worked well, what they learned, and how SPOA can help patients get care faster.

Listen to the podcast here.

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