section 136-place of safety

Report of the multi-agency group led by the Royal College of Psychiatrists
College Report CR149
September 2008
Royal College


Recommendations have been grouped by theme. The key recommendations relate to staffing of psychiatric places of safety and monitoring of the process, both at the local and the national level.
Place of safety
1 There should be sufficient places of safety in psychiatric facilities to meet foreseeable local need without recourse to police stations as a convenient local option or because the place of safety is regularly full. Further capital funding may be required to achieve this.
2 Police stations should only be used as the place of safety on an exceptional basis. The local monitoring group should check that this is the case and take appropriate action where necessary.
3 Emergency departments should be used as places of safety for those who need urgent physical health assessment and management but they may then be transferred to a psychiatric facility for further mental health assessment, provided that this does not result in undue delay.
4 Local policy should specify the range of places of safety which can be used and offer guidance as to when this would be appropriate. This should allow for example the young, the elderly and the disturbed to be assessed in an environment more appropriate for their needs.
5 When the place of safety is not the preferred psychiatric facility, emergency department or custody suite, the use of such a place must involve the prior agreement of the person in charge of the psychiatric facility before the patient begins their journey. This staff member must assure themselves that the place in question (which may include day hospitals, day centres and the home of a friend or family member) agrees to be used in this way and has sufficient staff or support at that time to be able to safely manage the situation, given the information on the patient’s behaviour received, before agreeing to the patient being assessed there.
8 http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk
College Report CR149
6 Defined standards for the physical environment should be applied to the place of safety in mental health units. They may be used to inform the development of alternative places of safety,