Police cells no longer acceptable places for people having a mental health crisis

Police and the NHS have pledged to drastically improve the emergency care, people experiencing an emergency mental health crisis receive.

The Crisis Care Concordat will reduce the number of police cells being used inappropriately to detain people experiencing mental health crisis, such as suicidal thoughts or significant anxiety.

More than 20 national organisations, including social services and housing agencies, have committed to eliminate the variation in standards of mental health services currently seen throughout the country.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “A mental health crisis can already be distressing for individuals and all those involved, but when people aren’t getting the right support or care it can have very serious consequences. It’s unacceptable that there are incidents where young people and even children can end up in a police cell because the right mental health service isn’t available to them.

“We want to build a fairer society – one where mental health is as important as physical health – and the Crisis Care Concordat is an important step towards addressing this disparity.”

The Crisis Care Concordat is encouraging services to share essential information about patients such as their history of violence and drink or drug use so they can benefit from appropriate and personalised care.

The agreement wants local services to ensure health-based places of safety are always available for people in an emergency and stipulates police custody should never just be used just because mental health services are unavailable.

Norman Lamb, Care and Support Minister, said: “When someone has a mental health crisis, it is distressing and frightening for them as well as the people around them. For me, crisis care is the most stark example of the lack of equality between mental and physical health.

“The NHS and police already work well together in some areas, but it is totally unacceptable that crisis mental health care is so variable across the country.

“Better care for people in mental health crises will not only help those living through their darkest hours to recover – it can also save lives.”

Mental health charity Mind will have the role of ensuring commitments made in the Concordat are rolled out locally and will be doing this through regular regional workshops and an annual summit to review its progress.

Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, said: "This is the 999 plan for mental health. It should mean that anyone in mental health crisis gets urgent and appropriate help. It is founded on the fundamental principle that mental health is not the sole responsibility of the NHS – it is everyone’s business and people in crisis will only ever get the support they need and deserve if all national and local departments and services work together properly.

"I am delighted that Mind has been chosen as the organisation to take the concordat forward and help embed it in local communities. We have a difficult job to do, particularly in the face of continued cuts to NHS mental health and other local services, but we firmly believe that the concordat can and will succeed in every part of England, for the benefit of all of us who might find ourselves in crisis."

The Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) has supported the announcement and David Smith, joint chair of the ADASS Mental Health Network, said: “This represents an important commitment to improving services for some of our most vulnerable adults.

“There may be cost implications for its implementation. But nobody should underestimate our determination to eliminate small pockets of poor practice by raising the standards of care throughout our services.”

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has also come forward to support the announcement.

President of RCPCH, Dr Hilary Cass, said: "Partnership working is vital if we are to provide the best possible mental healthcare, so it's encouraging to see so many different organisations making a real commitment to improving services.

"For many people who need mental health services, their journey through the healthcare system is smooth, however, for others, this is not the case and it is here where partnership working is crucial in order to manage a patient's condition quickly and correctly.

“This Concordat acknowledges this and it is now down to us as signatories to start making steps to address areas in the system that simply aren't good enough.”