Lancashire mental health crisis pilot extended

The scheme has freed up 4,000 police hours a month, Lancashire Constabulary said

A pilot project to ensure people in mental health crisis receive appropriate support in Lancashire is being rolled out across the country.

The Right Care Right Person model is a partnership between police and NHS mental health services.

The roll-out will see police in England attend fewer mental health calls.

Ass Ch Con Russ Procter, of Lancashire Constabulary, said the move would free up police time and ensure people receive the right care.

'Responding to crime'

Responsibility for responding to immediate mental health needs had been falling to the police despite the fact the force was "not fully equipped" for the task, Ass Ch Con Procter said.

He said it was "unacceptable" for officers to be spend a "disproportionate" amount of time on mental health incidents, including having to accompany patients in hospital as they await assessments, when they should be "on the streets responding to crime and disorder".

The pilot scheme, which was launched in May 2022, sees mental health calls to the force triaged.

Individuals involved are either pointed in the right direction by the police call handler or referred directly to the NHS for support, advice and signposting to the "right person" alluded to in the title of the initiative.

In the 14 months since it was launched, 41,254 incidents were dealt with under the scheme.

Some 10,167 were redirected towards relevant health services without any further involvement from the police - saving 4,000 hours of frontline officer time a month, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

'Clear assessments'

Ass Ch Con Procter said the new way of working offered a "better service and a more consistent service to put people [in touch with] the right organisation to support them at a time of need".

He added Lancashire Police was not withdrawing from attending to support people in crisis and would continue to deal "with every call and incident on an individual basis".

He said: "We make really clear assessments in relation to vulnerability and crime, to make sure that the right organisation [responds].

"If it is an immediate threat to life, then Lancashire Police will continue to deal with those incidents [and] if it is a crisis linked to crime, again, we continue to attend those incidents.

"We are the right organisation for you to contact.

"We just want to make sure that communities across Lancashire get the right organisation to deal with them when they are in a place where they are vulnerable or in crisis."

Julie Anne Murray, Interim Chief Nurse and Quality Officer at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We are pleased to continue to work in partnership with our colleagues at Lancashire Police to ensure individuals get the appropriate care from the right service or team during their time of need.

"We look forward to continuing to make progress in this area by working collaboratively together."

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