We worked with the Home Office to trial an alternative place of safety in one of our supported housing schemes in Sussex. It was the first time a voluntary sector provider had worked in partnership with the NHS and police to offer this type of service.
And now an independent evaluation of the scheme has concluded that it’s an effective model that could be used more widely across the country. The report recommended that NHS commissioners actively seek to work with third sector organisations to support people detained as an alternative to police custody.
A reason Richmond Fellowship was selected for the pilot was because of the individually tailored support we could provide to people. This included emotional support, social care support, and signposting to other agencies, self-care promotion and basic therapeutic techniques.
These are not currently provided in custody suites or health based places of safety but the independent evaluation concluded that these sorts of approaches work and should be made available.
“We’re really pleased at the success of the pilot which demonstrates that the voluntary sector can be an effective partner when it comes to providing alternative places of safety to a police cell or hospital.
Under the pilot scheme Richmond Fellowship provided a secure room that individuals could be brought to by the police or ambulance service. Our ethos was to provide a safe environment but one that was more homely than a clinical setting or police cell.
Our experienced recovery workers provided round the clock support until the individual was assessed, transferred to a health-based place of safety or had other suitable arrangements made for their ongoing care or treatment.
More than half the individuals brought to us had been detained because they’d expressed intentions to commit suicide or self-harm as well as alcohol or substance misuse issues.
However, none of them went on to require a hospital admission and all were discharged home with ongoing GP or community mental health support as required.