Bedfordshire adopts Right Care Right Person Initiative
Date Added: 02/02/2024
Right Care Right Person (RCRP), major initiative to ensure that health and social care incidents get the best response from the most appropriate agency was launched on the 31st of January 2024 in Bedfordshire. It will ensure vulnerable people receive the specialist health support they need, that often police officers are not best placed to provide.
While some health incidents require police attendance, there are a significant number in which there is no safety risk or crime committed, with other agencies such as mental health services or social care better placed to offer this support. In Bedfordshire over 12 months from July 2022 to June 2023, police officers attended 14,738 reports of concern for welfare and 5,666 reports relating to mental health. Chief Superintendent Jaki Whittred, Head of Local Policing at Bedfordshire Police, said: “Our officers respond to many different incidents, but this does not mean we are always the right people, particularly when it comes to certain health related matters. He went on to add that “We have a duty to prevent and investigate crime and to keep people safe. RCRP will help us to balance those duties more effectively. However, we
Bedorshire Police is assuring the general public that they are not stepping away from health-related incidents and will always attend where there is a threat to life or serious harm to both an individual, or others around them.
Find out more about Right Care Right Person and what this means for Bedfordshire on the Bedfordshire Police website.
For anyone who find themselves in mental health crisis in Bedfordshire and Luton, support is available 24 hours a day through the NHS mental health crisis line where you will be able to speak to a trained mental health professional - call 111 and then select the mental health option.
In addition, you can seek support via the Samaritans by calling 116 123 fo free or through the MIND crisis cafes which run from 5pm to 11pm throughout the region.