£1.3m national study investigates impact of police stepping back from mental health crisis calls in South London
A major new research project, launched earlier this year, is examining how changes to police involvement in mental health crisis responses are affecting people, services, and communities across England.
Experts at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust are part of the ‘PIONEER-MH’ study, supported by £1.3 million in funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The work comes at a time when police forces across the country are making significant changes to how they respond to emergency mental health calls, under the national ‘Right Care, Right Person’ strategy.
‘Right Care, Right Person’ aims to ensure that people in mental health crisis are supported by the most appropriate service. Some incidents do need the police to attend. But when there is no public safety risk or crime suspected, health or social care services are often better placed to support someone.
This new study will investigate how this shift is affecting people in crisis, frontline staff and multi-agency services, and whether the changes are improving safety, access to care and outcomes.
The project aims to give NHS leaders, commissioners, police forces and policymakers evidence they can use to shape future crisis care.
As well as looking at crisis responses in South London, the research team are also analysing services across Avon and Wiltshire, Cumbria, and West Yorkshire. Each area has different approaches to crisis response, levels of deprivation, and use of police powers.
Dr Iain McKinnon, a Consultant Psychiatrist and a Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University, and Chief Investigator on this study, said: “This research will give us crucial insight into what effect these changes are having on the NHS, ambulance services, social care, the voluntary and third sector, and – most importantly – people who are in distress themselves.”
Professor Nicola Clibbens, a Professor of Mental Health Nursing in a joint clinical academic position at Northumbria University and CNTW who is co-leading the study, said: “We are delighted to have been funded by the NIHR to work with a team who bring a wealth of expertise - including research methods, crisis services research, policing research, lived experience and knowledge mobilisation - from across England.
“Research that can drive improvement of crisis services is of critical importance to ensure timely and acceptable care for the most distressed people in our communities.
“Crisis services are the front line in responding to very distressed people, preventing suicide, identifying treatable mental health issues and directing people to appropriate follow-on support and intervention. It is also critical that people who may be less often heard are included in our research to address marginalisation of people due to their socioeconomic situation, their ethnicity or culture or their diagnosis.”
Researchers will look at how local services and systems are organised and analyse what effect changes to their crisis responses are having.
Vanessa Smith, Chief Nurse at South London and Maudsley, added: “Being part of this national research team brings together such exceptional expertise across mental health, policing, social care, lived experience and more. The changes from the Right Care, Right Person strategy represent a significant shift in how services work together, and we see the direct impact that compassionate, timely and well-coordinated care can have on our service users.”
Shorayi Nyamupanda, Interim Deputy Chief Operating Officer, South London and Maudsley said: “As a Senior Mental Health Operational Manager working within one of the most diverse communities in South London, I welcome the PIONEER-MH study and the opportunity to build a stronger evidence base around the impact of the Right Care, Right Person approach."
A core part of the project is working with people who have experienced a mental health crisis themselves. Four peer researchers and a panel of 24 public contributors will shape the study and advise on the findings.
Wendy Hope, one of these Lived Experience Partners, said: “As someone who has been through mental health crisis care, I know how important it is that responses are compassionate, coordinated, and timely.
“This project matters because it will look at how recent changes in policy are affecting that – and real voices will shape the findings and how things are going forward.”
Get Involved in the study at South London and Maudsley
If you would like to get involved in the study at South London and Maudsley, participants will have the option to take part in interviews, focus groups, and workshops, where they can share their experiences and discuss how crisis response services operate in their area.
Our focus will be specifically on Lambeth.
Please email Saskia.Perks@slam.nhs.uk if you are interested in getting involved or to find out more.