Police not dodging danger in health initiative, Dudley councillors told
Right Care, Right Person is a nationwide policing scheme designed to direct people experiencing mental health, welfare or vulnerability problems to support from the appropriate agency.
An initiative designed to ensure people in crisis are seen by appropriate specialists does not mean police dodging danger councillors have been told.
Right Care, Right Person is a nationwide policing scheme designed to direct people experiencing mental health, welfare or vulnerability problems to support from the appropriate agency.
A meeting of Dudley Council’s Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee on August 3 heard police will still be involved in situations where crime is being committed or public safety is at risk.
Darryl Phillipowsky, from the council’s adult social care team, said: “Historically police have often been called when the situation is not primarily about crime.
“Right Care, Right Person does not remove police from risk, they ask whether police are the right service to meet or whether the person needs specific specialist mental health, medical, social care or welfare support instead.
“A person in distress should not automatically receive a police response if their primary need is mental health or social care or welfare support.”
Councillors were told the objective of the approach was better outcomes for people in need and clarity in roles for support services.
Mr Phillipowsky added: “If police powers are needed, police remain involved.
“It is not police walking away from their responsibilities or from danger. It’s not withdrawing safeguarding duties, it’s not leaving residents without help.”
The initiative began in 2024 and councillors were told since Right Care, Right Person started there had been 282 activities recorded and 40 potential detentions had been prevented in Dudley borough.
A report for the committee signed by Emma Matthews, Dudley’s director of adult social care, said: “Adult Social Care monitoring, together with evidence from police and NHS partners, indicates that Right Care, Right Person is improving the alignment of responsibilities across agencies and strengthening multi-agency ownership of risk.”
The report added there was still a need to monitor how police used powers under mental health legislation to remove people from public places if they appear to be suffering a mental health crisis, mental health handover times and how hospital emergency departments were used to deal with people experiencing a mental health crisis.
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