Policy P38 - Right Care Right Person | South Yorkshire Police

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This is South Yorkshire Police’s Statement of Agreed Policy on Right Care, Right Person. This policy relates to localised procedures only and therefore is not supported by Authorised Professional Practice (APP).

This policy covers the following areas:

Policy Summary
Aim
Scope
Compliance
Related Guidelines

Policy Summary

The police service has a duty and a public expectation to:

Keep the peace
Maintain law and order
Protect life and property
Prevent, reduce and detect crime
Apprehend and prosecute offenders, and
To provide an efficient and effective service in the discharge of all its functions

In order to carry out this duty, to meet public expectations and to maximise our efficiency and effectiveness, South Yorkshire Police will focus on encouraging a 'right care, right person' approach to the management of incidents relating to health to ensure that members of the public receive treatment from the agency appropriately trained to deal with them.

Police officers and staff in the exercise of their duty in this function must ensure that:

They give due regard to the welfare, safety, general wellbeing and human rights of all individuals involved
They do not unjustifiably discriminate against any individual or groups of individuals
Actions taken are justified, strictly proportional to, and the least intrusive and damaging option to the achievement of their legitimate aims
They safeguard the confidentiality, integrity and availability of all information received, held, exchanged or shared by South Yorkshire Police

Aim

The overall aim of this policy is to ensure that police responses in respect of health are proportionate and in compliance with our legal duties. It is important to be robust and ensure that police are not missing critical information that would significantly change our assessment. As with all of our calls for service, our risk assessment model THRIVE will be applied.

This policy will provide clarity to the police and its partners on when a health-related incident will, and will not, become a police responsibility to respond.

The legal duties of care and liabilities towards an individual cannot be passed to the police unless the police accept that responsibility. In such cases where responsibility is not accepted, the duty of care will remain with the partner agency or individual concerned.

This policy does not seek to avoid the police’s responsibility to deal with core policing matters. In regard to the circumstances above, the following are core roles of the police and any calls for service that include one of the following will be considered appropriate for police attention/action:

Common Law policing powers
Prevention and detection of crime
To keep the King’s peace

Where calls for service do not include the above, this is not a police matter.

Scope

This policy is applicable to all South Yorkshire Police Officers, Police Staff and members of the Special Constabulary.

This policy covers the response to health-related incidents.

Compliance

The legal basis for this guidance is our police responsibility under the following:

Common Law

Human Rights Act 1998/European Convention of Human Rights

Equality Act 2010

Crime and Disorder Act 1998

Mental Health Act 1983

Mental Capacity Act 2005

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and associated Regulations

Data Protection Act 2018

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Related Guidelines

The associated policies and strategies that support this policy are listed below:

P7 Information Management
P10 Major Investigation and Public Protection
P12 National Decision Model
P17 Risk
P28 Force Control Room
NPCC National Strategy on Policing Mental Health

The associated procedural instructions that support this policy are listed below:

Pi38.1 - Concern for Welfare
Pi38.2 – Walk Out of Health Care Facilities
Pi38.3 – Mental Health
Pi38.4 - Management and Transport of Casualties
Pi10.19 Management, Recording & Investigation of Missing Persons

Equality Act 2010

The Act creates a statutory requirement for all Functions and Policies (Including Procedural Instructions) to be analysed for their effect on equality, diversity and human rights, with due regard to the General Equality Duty.

In principle, this document has been assessed for discrimination, which cannot be justified, among other diverse groups.

The Code of Ethics published in 2014 and revised in 2024 by the College of Policing requires us all to do the right thing in the right way.

The 2024 Code of Ethics is not a statutory Code of Practice, it has the same status as other guidance produced by the College. The Code of Ethics is supported by the Code of Practice for Ethical Policing. This is a statutory Code of Practice which provides chief officers with direction on promoting and supporting ethical and professional behaviour within their forces.

Human Rights/Discretion

The purpose of providing policy is to give an indication to staff of the expected course of action. However it is not possible to cater for every possible combination of factors that would justify a departure from stated policy. The Human Rights Act 1998 requires the proper use of discretion at all times and nothing within this policy and associated procedural instructions prohibits the proper use of discretion in appropriate circumstances.

Where action is taken that has the potential to interfere with an individual's Human Rights, the reasons behind the making of the decision to act in that way should be recorded on the appropriate forms, or where this is not practicable, in pocket books or policy logs.

Rights of redress for members of the public:

Anyone who feels that a member of staff has behaved incorrectly or unfairly, or who is dissatisfied with organisational matters, service delivery or other operational policing issues, has the right to make a complaint.

Initial action should be taken in one of the following ways:

Complain in writing or in person to the Senior Officer at the appropriate police station or to the Chief Constable of the force concerned.
Visit a local Citizens' Advice Bureau
Contact a Solicitor

Rights of redress for South Yorkshire Police personnel:

South Yorkshire Police personnel who feel they have grounds for concern in relation to the implementation of policies may, as appropriate:

Pursue concerns through their line manager.
Contact a First Contact Advisor.
Pursue a grievance formally through the South Yorkshire Police Grievance Resolution Procedure.
Seek advice from their staff association or trades union.

Use procedural instruction Pi23.11 - Management of Complaints, in the section entitled Handling Complaints relating to Direction and Control.

Start Date: 23/01/2023

This statement of agreed policy is new.

Review:

This statement of agreed policy is managed by Head of the Force Control Room.

The date for the next review of this policy and Equality Analysis is: 23/01/2025

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Policy P38 - Right Care Right Person