PCC: NHS leaders must take responsibility for mental health custody incident that ‘pushed officers to the limit’

A police and crime commissioner (PCC) has demanded NHS Trust managers be held accountable for an incident where a mentally ill man spent 64 hours in police custody because hospitals refused to admit him.

On March 5, 2015, a 48-year-old man in mental health crisis was detained by Staffordshire Police after he escaped from a facility in London and made his way to Stoke-on-Trent.

However, following transfer to Harplands Hospital, he was returned to the force just seven hours later on the grounds that his behaviour could not be managed.

The man was then taken back into custody, where he was recorded as “highly aggressive and hostile”, reportedly to such an extent that some officers expressed concern for their own safety.

In the following 64 hours, 11 NHS officials across the country refused to take the man into their care because they claimed they did not have enough specialist Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) beds.

One of these revoked their agreement to take the man while he was still in transit, forcing the driver to return to the custody suite.

But upon his return, the custody inspector refused his admission as there were no legal grounds for his detention, leaving the man locked in the car for two hours before it was ultimately decided to re-admit him into Harplands.

Staffordshire PCC Matthew Ellis’ Ethics, Transparency and Audit Panel (ETAP) published a review of the incident, and called for the NHS leaders involved to accept responsibility.

Mr Ellis said: “Senior NHS Trust managers across the country failed to get a grip on the seriousness of this situation meaning that an individual in distress was left in a criminal justice environment for so long.

“It also meant that police officers were left to deal with mental health complexities on a scale which was way outside their expertise.

“This isn’t about criticising front end mental health professionals, this is about a failure of senior NHS managers to be accountable.

“The ETAP report reinforces a lack of join up and responsibility across services, in particular NHS Mental Health Trusts across the country.

“The last two years in Staffordshire have seen an 80 per cent reduction in the number of people suffering mental ill health being put in cells but this sad incident reinforces the importance of senior people being accountable in providing decent services in difficult situations.

“There are senior managers across NHS Trusts countrywide who must take some responsibility for this situation where a man was incarcerated for 64 hours despite not committing a crime and two dozen police officers were tested to their absolute limit.”

The report praised the efforts of the 22 officers involved, who looked after the man at the cost of nearly 75 hours of police time.

It recognised that they made “significant efforts” to improve his conditions by holding him in an empty wing of the custody facility.

This resulted in a number of cells being unavailable for use.

Assistant Chief Constable Bernie O’Reilly said: “I welcome the review and learning that has come from it. Our custody facilities are rarely the right place for prolonged periods for people with mental health issues.

“Our officers do their best in difficult circumstances – but are reliant on qualified experts to provide appropriate alternative accommodation that better suits the needs of people in distress.”

Between April and November 2015, nine people were detained at the same custody facility under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.

None of these were kept for longer than 12 hours, in accordance with the new Mental Health Act Code of Practice (2015).

Harplands has also announced it will create additional PICU beds and suites, which will be completed in 2017.

Andy Rogers, director of operations for North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “We do everything in our power to support service users who come into contact with police.

“Every effort is made by both NHS and police staff, working together, to ensure each client is l