Met Police officers will be able to consult a medical professional before sectioning a mental health patient as part of plans to reduce the number of people being detained under the Mental Health Act.
Officers will be able to access a bespoke service, staffed by mental health clinicians, to seek advice on the best treatment pathway for a patient in a crisis.
The number of patients detained by police under Section 136 (S136) of the Mental Health Act has been steadily rising in recent years. Six in ten (60 per cent) patients are taken to Emergency Departments (EDs) as a first place of safety – twice the national average. Many of these patients face long waits for care in A&E, which can be a distressing environment for people in a mental health crisis.
Black people are nearly five times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than white people, according to NHS figures.
Earlier this year, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley wrote to health and social care services to say police would no longer attend emergency calls if they are linked to mental health incidents from September.
He claimed the move would free up officers to spend more time on their policing duties, rather than dealing with patients in need of medical help.
Under plans unveiled by NHS London on Tuesday, police will be able to contact mental health professionals through the S136 hub for advice on how best to proceed with a patient in a mental health crisis.
An initial pilot scheme will launch next year to determine the effectiveness of the policy at reducing the use of S136. It is expected to be integrated into an NHS 111 service that will offer specific mental health aid to patients in a crisis. The service will be launched nationally in April 2024.
Police will only detain a patient under the Mental Health Act as a “last resort”, NHS London said.
The plans are part of a concordat released by NHS London on Tuesday setting out several commitments to improve mental health services in the capital.
Six Mental Health Joint Response Cars (MHJRC), containing a paramedic and mental health professional, will respond to mental health calls seven days a week to avoid patients making an unnecessary trip to A&E. Paramedics will be able to perform a physical assessment at the scene, while mental health professionals will formulate a risk assessment and deliver brief psychological interventions to reduce distress.
Evidence from an initial pilot and evaluation of the MHJRC found that four out of five people who were seen by the joint team of mental health professional and paramedic were seen, treated, and discharged at the scene - avoiding a trip to A&E.
Former minister and Liberal Democrat MP Sir Norman Lamb, who was involved in creating the plans, told the Standard: “The rising number of S136 detainments is concerning, and it puts an enormous amount of pressure on A&E departments. You then have police staying with people for many hours. It is not appropriate for us to expect police to perform a central role in treating people with complex mental health needs who are in a crisis.”
He said that NHS London was working with black-led community organisations to help provide “culturally appropriate” support, stressing that reducing the number of young black men detained under S136 was a priority for the health service.
“The system is failing communities and we have a responsibility to fix that. For black men to be disproportionately affected by S136 is not acceptable in this day and age.”
Commander Kevin Southworth, head of public protection at the Metropolitan Police, said: “We know police involvement is not always what people suffering from acute mental health illness will want, nor are police officers and staff always best-placed to help in such situations.
“Police involvement may sometimes lead to worse outcomes and increase disproportionality in our policing, especially amongst our Black communities. We are determined to change this and the announcement of this concordat is a really important step that will help further transform our approach to mental health care in London.”
NHS London is aiming for an overall 20 per cent year on year reduction over 3 years in the number of people placed on S136.
NHS London director of performance Martin Machray said: “People experiencing mental health crisis in our capital should have access to safe, timely, and appropriate support. All those signing up to the concordat commit to tackling waiting times and improving outcomes for patients. Crisis support will be open-access, responsive to all our communities, available without referral and as close to people’s homes as possible.”
