Fed chair welcomes news of ‘Right Care, Right Person’ implementation

22 September 2023

The chair of Suffolk Police Federation has welcomed news that police forces from across England and Wales will not always need to respond to mental health calls, a move that he believes will ‘free up hours of time for cops’.

Comments from Darren Harris come after it was agreed that the ‘Right Care, Right Person’ model - an initiative shaped around the way emergency services respond to calls involving concerns about mental health - would be introduced across the UK.

The aim being that individuals in a mental health crisis are seen by the right people, albeit, officers will still respond if there is a threat to life, with Darren saying that ‘recent developments are most welcome’.

He said: “Policing has been stretched for a number of years now and following cuts to other services, due to ongoing economic challenges, we have unfortunately been left to pick up the pieces.

Moves to make sure that individuals in a mental health crisis are seen
by the right people.

“The demand for police to respond to mental health incidents has increased massively, something that has then had an impact on what is regarded to be our core duties, like preventing and detecting crime.

“For a long time, the Federation has been saying that we cannot continue like this - for the sake of our officers - so these most recent developments are most welcome.”

The national partnership agreement, which was confirmed in July, sets out a consistent framework and expectation across the country that police forces will work with the local NHS, to ensure people suffering a mental health crisis will get a health response and not a response from the police.

“It is really important that the public get the correct and appropriate support and that may not always be police,” added Darren.

“But it must be remembered that our members are not medical or mental health professionals and continuing to use them as such also places them at risk.”

Darren said he hopes that the developmental changes will give officers and line managers the confidence they need when making deployment decisions.

He continued: “Our teams need to feel empowered are supported when they have made evidence-based decisions even in light of adverse outcomes. We will continue to review the impact but this is a really positive move for our members.”

By March 2024 it is expected that 24-hour mental health crisis phone lines will be in place across England and Wales, and over the next two years, funding is being put in place for mental health ambulances.