Concerns ahead of mental health 999 policy launch

Mark Harrison said implementing the new mental health policy now would be "unsafe and reckless"

Campaigners say they were not consulted over a new police policy for responding to mental health calls.

The controversial initiative, called Right Care, Right Person (RCRP), will be launched in Norfolk next week.

Under RCRP, police would respond to fewer such calls and people in mental health distress would be diverted to other services.

Norfolk Police said it remained "committed to protecting the most vulnerable".

They added RCRP would be a "new approach" after it had been rolled out across a number of police force areas in the UK.

The Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) policy will be launched in Norfolk next week

Last year, Norfolk Police received almost 23,000 "welfare calls", accounting for 12% of its overall demand.

These were for issues relating to medical and mental health, as well as social care.

Assistant Chief Constable Nick Davison, who is in charge of the project, said: "This initiative has always been about getting people in crisis the right care, from the right professional".

The force added that there was not a formal consultation, but it would be sharing further information with campaigners ahead of the launch.

Place of safety

But Mark Harrison, from the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk, said: "To implement Right Care, Right Person now is both unsafe and reckless".

He pointed to the local mental health trust closing a facility for housing people in crisis just as RCRP was being launched.

The Section 136 suite at Hellesdon Hospital in Norwich was a designated "place of safety" but was expected to be out of action for at least six months due to refurbishment.

"We are calling for the postponement and scrapping of Right Care, Right Person and the full funding of the mental health system," said Mr Harrison.

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) said its staff at Hellesdon would be transferred to other Section 136 suites elsewhere.

"We are producing a plan to mitigate any potential risks caused by this temporary closure before work commences," a spokesman said.

The launch of Right Care, Right Person in Norfolk was postponed following the deaths of four people at a house in Costessey in January

RCRP was due to begin in Norfolk in February but the plan was postponed following the deaths of four people in Costessey, near Norwich, the previous month.

Two adults and two girls were found at a house in the Queen's Hills area.

It had emerged one of the four, Bartlomiej Kuczynski, 45, had dialled 999 expressing concern about his mental state, and was directed to NHS 111.

Kanticha Sukpengpanao, 36, Jasmin Kuczynska, 12 and Natasha Kuczynska, eight, were found with him at the house in Costessey an hour later when a dog-walker called police.

'Additional reassurance'

The launch of RCRP in Norfolk will come days before the publication of a report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

The Inspectorate was asked by the county's then Police and Crime Commissioner to review the force’s control room and, in particular, look at how 999 calls were handled and responded to following the Costessey tragedy.

The College of Policing has also reviewed Norfolk's implementation plan for RCRP as well as feedback from the Inspectorate.

ACC Davison said: "The inspection by HMICFRS and the peer review by the College of Policing has given us that additional reassurance."

Tracey Bleakley, chief executive of the NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB), said: "All partners are committed to working collaboratively and carefully together to implement the Right Care, Right Person model."

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