About the Crisis Care Concordat

The Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat
What people who use crisis care services expect from the Concordat
Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat: the joint statement
Signatories and supporters to the Concordat

The Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat

The Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat is a national agreement between services and agencies involved in the care and support of people in crisis. It sets out how organisations will work together better to make sure that people get the help they need when they are having a mental health crisis.

In February 2014, 22 national bodies involved in health, policing, social care, housing, local government and the third sector came together and signed the Crisis Care Concordat. Since then five more bodies have signed the Concordat, making a total of 27 national signatories.

The Concordat focuses on four main areas:

Access to support before crisis point – making sure people with mental health problems can get help 24 hours a day and that when they ask for help, they are taken seriously.
Urgent and emergency access to crisis care – making sure that a mental health crisis is treated with the same urgency as a physical health emergency.
Quality of treatment and care when in crisis – making sure that people are treated with dignity and respect, in a therapeutic environment.
Recovery and staying well – preventing future crises by making sure people are referred to appropriate services.

Although the Crisis Care Concordat focuses on the responses to acute mental health crises, it also includes a section on prevention and intervention. The Concordat builds on and does not replace existing guidance. Current service provision should continue while the Action Plan is being devised.

Read the Crisis Care Concordat

What people who use crisis services expect from the Concordat

Access to support before crisis point

Making sure people with mental health problems can get help 24 hours a day and that when they ask for help, they are taken seriously.

When I need urgent help to avert a crisis I, and people close to me, know who to contact at any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. People take me seriously and trust my judgement when I say I am close to crisis, and I get fast access to people who help me get better.

Urgent and emergency access to crisis care

Making sure that a mental health crisis is treated with the same urgency as a physical health emergency.

If I need emergency help for my mental health, this is treated with as much urgency and respect as if it were a physical health emergency. If the problems cannot be resolved where I am, I am supported to travel safely, in suitable transport, to where the right help is available.

I am seen by a mental health professional quickly. If I have to wait, it is in a place where I feel safe. I then get the right service for my needs, quickly and easily.

Every effort is made to understand and communicate with me. Staff check any relevant information that services have about me and, as far as possible, they follow my wishes and any plan that I have voluntarily agreed to.

I feel safe and am treated kindly, with respect, and in accordance with my legal rights.

If I have to be held physically (restrained), this is done safely, supportively and lawfully, by people who understand I am ill and know what they are doing.

Those closest to me are informed about my whereabouts and anyone at school, college or work who needs to know is told that I am ill. I am able to see or talk to friends, family or other people who are important to me if I so wish. I am confident that timely arrangements are made to look after any people or animals that depend on me.

Quality of treatment and care when in crisis

Making sure that people are treated with dignity and respect, in a therapeutic environment.

I am treated with respect and care at all times.

I get support and treatment from people who have the right skills and who focus on my recovery, in a setting which suits me and my needs. I see the same staff members as far as possible, and if I need another service this is arranged without unnecessary assessments. If I need longer term support this is arranged.

I have support to speak for myself and make decisions about my treatment and care. My rights are clearly explained to me and I am able to have an advocate or support from family and friends if I so wish. If I do not have capacity to make decisions about my treatment and care, any wishes or preferences I express will be respected and any advance statements or decisions that I have made are checked and respected. If my expressed wishes or previously agreed plan are not followed, the reasons for this are clearly explained to me.

Recovery and staying well

Preventing future crises by making sure people are referred to appropriate services.

I am given information about, and referrals to, services that will support my process of recovery and help me to stay well.

I, and people close to me, have an opportunity to reflect on the crisis, and to find better ways to manage my mental health in the future, that take account of other support I may need, around substance misuse or housing for example. I am supported to develop a plan for how I wish to be treated if I experience a crisis in the future and there is an agreed strategy for how this will be carried out.

I am offered an opportunity to feed back to services my views on my crisis experience, to help improve services for myself and others.

Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat: the joint statement

We commit to work together to improve the system of care and support so people in crisis because of a mental health condition are kept safe and helped to find the support they need – whatever the circumstances in which they first need help – and from whichever service they turn to first.

We will work together, and with local organisations, to prevent crises happening whenever possible through prevention and early intervention. We will make sure we meet the needs of vulnerable people in urgent situations. We will strive to make sure that all relevant public services support someone who appears to have a mental health problem to move towards Recovery.

Jointly, we hold ourselves accountable for enabling this commitment to be delivered across England.

Signatories to the Concordat

Association of Ambulance Chief Executives
Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
Association of Directors of Children’s Services
Association of Police and Crime Commissioners
British Transport Police
Care Quality Commission
Chief Fire Officers Association
College of Emergency Medicine
College of Policing
Department of Health
Health Education England
Home Office
Local Government Association
Mind
Ministry of Defence
Monitor
National Police Chiefs’ Council
NHS Clinical Commissioners, Mental Health Network
NHS Confederation
NHS England
NHS Providers
Public Health England
Royal College of General Practitioners
Royal College of Nursing
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
Royal College of Psychiatrists

Supporters of the Concordat

Behind the Mask Foundation
Carers Trust
Centre for Mental Health
CLASP
Crossrail
Mental Health Foundation
Mental Health Providers Forum
Missing People
Nacro
National Housing Federation
National Survivor User Network
Recovery Focus
Rethink Mental Illness
RNLI
Stonewall
Together for mental wellbeing
Turning Point
Young Minds