What is Right Care Right Person?
Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) is a national initiative that aims to make sure that the Right Care is provided by the Right Person (professional) at a time of crisis. This means that earlier this year Police forces across the country (including Dorset Police) introduced changes in the way they respond to calls concerning mental health.
This is because when experiencing mental health crisis, people need timely and compassionate support that meets their specific needs. Often, the police are not the right responders. Some people have found a police response makes them feel criminalized, even when they have not committed a crime.
We understand that Police are not necessarily the most appropriate agency to respond to people in acute distress, but there is a need to ensure that people and communities know where to go and how to get support when they are seriously worried about a person’s welfare.
What changes might I see when I call the Police?
If you are at risk of being harmed, or concerned that someone else is at risk of harm (known as concern for welfare), the Police call handler may direct you to another health and social care agency that could be better placed to support your needs.
If you or someone you are supporting is being treated within a healthcare facility and decides to leave before being discharged, or you have not returned to a mental healthcare facility where you were receiving care then an assessment of your circumstances and capacity may no longer deem you as a missing person.
The next phases of RCRP will focus on improving a partnership operating model to reduce police transport of people between hospitals and secure facilities, and facilitate the timely handovers from police officers to crisis care staff, of people who are detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.
However, this does not stop the police continuing to perform their key role of keeping people safe. Officers will continue to respond to investigate a crime that has occurred or is occurring; or to protect people, when there is a real and immediate risk to the life of a person, or of a person being subject to or at risk of serious harm.
How do I know if I, or someone else is in crisis?
A mental health crisis is when you feel overwhelmed and unable to cope. You might feel helpless and in need of immediate assistance. This can happen to anyone and may involve experiencing:
- Intense anxiety
- Depressed mood
- Hopelessness
- Panic attacks
- Self-harm
- Psychotic episodes, where you might lose touch with reality, experiencing hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren’t there) or delusions (believing things that aren’t true).
How do I access support?
If you or someone else requires mental health support, you can access a range of services from Dorset Healthcare as part of Access Mental Health Dorset.
Connection – a 24/7 helpline open to all ages. Dorset residents or people visiting Dorset can call 0800 652 0190 or NHS 111 for free.
The Retreat – open to anyone aged 18 or above, providing a safe space to seek face-to-face help and support.
Community Front Rooms – open to anyone aged 18 or above, providing a welcoming, safe space where you can discuss problems and work towards possible solutions at locations in Bridport, Shaftesbury, Weymouth and Wareham.
Check links above for latest opening hours and locations.
Anyone concerned about someone’s immediate safety should continue to call Dorset Police on 999.
Can I share my experiences?
We are working with a range of local partners to identify gaps in service provision and to feed peoples voices into planned view seeking, all utilising our own lived experience and of those we work with. We welcome your stories and experiences, please do contact us via our share your experiences page if you want to get involved.
For further details on the Right Care Right Person initiative visit Dorset Police website.