In a move aimed at providing more appropriate assistance to individuals facing mental health crises, the ‘Right Care Right Person’ initiative has been launched across London on Wednesday, November 1.
The Metropolitan Police Service has increasingly been drawn into responding to mental health crises and other health-related incidents, diverting officers from their core responsibilities of preventing and solving crimes, supporting victims, and bringing offenders to justice. This diversion leads to patients in need of medical assistance being attended to by law enforcement officers rather than expert healthcare professionals.
In the city of London, police officers spend an average of 14.2 hours in hospitals with patients who have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act, awaiting the handover of care to a medical professional. In March 2023 alone, officers devoted 10,000 hours to the task of sectioning patients, and during the 2021/22 period, the Met received over 78,000 mental health-related calls and more than 204,000 welfare concern calls.
‘Right Care, Right Person’ is a national program that brings together local police services and the NHS to ensure that individuals experiencing mental health issues receive the appropriate care when they contact emergency services. The Metropolitan Police has collaborated closely with key healthcare partners, including the NHS and social care teams throughout London, to plan for these changes. All parties agree that this shift is in the best interest of patients.
The introduction of this new policy will entail officers continuing to respond to calls where there is an immediate risk to life, such as situations involving individuals at risk of self-harm or posing harm to others. However, calls will be triaged by 999 and 101 call handlers to better assess a caller’s needs and ensure that the right service is dispatched.
As a result, officers will:
Not respond to medical calls where a healthcare professional is more appropriate.
No longer conduct welfare checks for individuals who have missed a scheduled health appointment, to verify medication compliance, or to check on individuals when health or social care agencies are not engaged.
No longer search for individuals who have left mental health facilities or hospitals, unless there is a policing reason.
Always call for an ambulance to transport individuals who have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act, instead of using a police van.
These changes will free up police officers to respond to emergency calls involving criminal activity, allowing them to apprehend suspects more efficiently, collect evidence, and provide better support to victims. This will grant officers more time to focus on policing priorities in London’s communities, such as addressing knife crime, robbery, and violence against women and girls.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, who leads the ‘Right Care, Right Person’ initiative in the Metropolitan Police, stated, “People suffering from mental health issues deserve the right response from trained medical professionals and should not feel like they are being criminalized in their time of crisis or need. Too often, the police are called as the default response to what are healthcare issues. This leads to the criminalization of patients, adverse outcomes, and a reduction in our ability to deliver core policing responsibilities.”
He reassured the public that the Met will always attend incidents where there is a threat to life, a criminal act, or a risk of a breach of the peace. The ‘Right Care, Right Person’ approach is aimed at ensuring that individuals receive the appropriate care when needed.
Extensive training has been provided to the Metropolitan Police’s command-and-control (MetCC) teams responsible for handling 999 and 101 calls. They will assess incoming calls to determine whether to deploy police or other services. MetCC officers will consider whether a crime has been committed, if medical support is required, or if a patient has left a healthcare facility. The police will no longer assume a duty of care from other agencies when core policing responsibilities are not engaged.
This model, initially pioneered by Humberside Police, has shown significant success in reducing demands across all services, freeing up approximately seven percent of officer time.
As the Met works towards building “A New Met for London,” the ‘Right Care, Right Person’ model will enable officers and staff to be more effective in community crime-fighting efforts.
