Branch secretary praises forward-thinking Force for implementing ‘Right Care, Right Person’ approach early

3 August 2023

The secretary of West Mercia Police Federation has welcomed the news that police forces across England and Wales will not always need to respond to mental health calls, a move that will free up hours of time for cops.

The changes come as part of the ‘Right Care, Right Person’, a model shaped around the way emergency services respond to calls involving concerns about mental health - with the aim being to ensure individuals in a mental health crisis are seen by the right people. Albeit, officers will still respond if there is a threat to life.

Branch secretary Peter Nightingale says the 'recent developments are most welcome’.

He said: “Policing has been stretched for years and following the cuts to other services during austerity we have been left to pick up the pieces.

“The demands of mental health on policing have increased massively and adversely impacted our ability to do what the majority of the public would consider is our core policing duties like preventing and detecting crime.

“For a long time, the Federation has been saying that we cannot continue like this, and 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 mental health crisis will get a health response and not a response from the police.

The national partnership agreement will help people with a mental health crisis

And while the approach was officially agreed nationally by policing, the NHS and other relevant partners last month, West Mercia Police Force was one of the few who introduced the initiative when it was first launched back in April.

“So often, the Federation is calling for change but in this instance, I’d like to praise West Mercia Force for being so forward-thinking,” added Peter.

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

“Our members are not medical or mental health professionals and continuing to use them as such also places them at risk.”

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

“Our teams need to feel empowered are supported when they have made evidence-based decisions even in light of adverse outcomes. We will 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.