Here in Merseyside the police, local courts and NHS are working together trialing a new
service called Liaison and diversion. By screening people with mental health problems, learning
difficulties and other vulnerabilities they can get treatment and support.
Liaison and Diversion services operate by referring offenders who are identified with
having mental health, learning disabilities, substance misuse or other vulnerabilities
to an appropriate treatment or support service. A national standard service specification
was produced and being rolled out across England by NHS England. This model includes an all
age and all hour service with an identification, assessment, screening and referral pathway.
Our service actively screens everybody in custody, so running peoples names through
the health database to see whether or not people are known to mental health services,
have a diagnosis of mental health issues or whether or not they have been referred recently
for assessment because there are concerns in the community.
We'd be looking for signs and symptoms of mental illness. So whether that be signs and
symptoms of psychotic symptoms, we'd be looking at what the person is telling us is what their
experiencing.
Experiences can be from any walk of life. Liverpool is one of the largest recruitment
areas for the armed forces. Veterans are a group who are identified specifically by the
service to give them support with what can be serious issues.
We normally pick up the veterans with serious issues, a lot of that could be anger related,
mental health issues, it could be domestic violence. The fact that we could have a trained
therapist based in a custody suite who could access a veteran at the earliest possible
opportunity enables us to work with that individual and get the support in their as soon as possible.
Local football club Everton have also been active in supporting local veterans by providing
advice and support
The question was never asked when they were in the custody suite are you in or have you
served in Her Majesties forces? If that question was asked, you know a while ago, you know
a lot of them might not go in to that system, but because the question was never asked.
So we don't really know how many people are in there, we don't know the statistics we
don't know the reasons why they are getting in to that, but now the question is being
asked we are getting people referred to us now and we do the same process with them as
what we do with the normal lads who have just gone off the rails a bit and that's what we
are hoping to do now.
Another aspect of Liaison and Diversion is that it gives hope for people in all parts
of society; One service user was seriously mentally unwell and had alcohol problems before
she was arrested and seen by the liaison and diversion team in Merseyside.
I was charged with battery so yeah I went to court. By this point you know I was severely,
really severely depressed and there was times when you know I didn't even know what day
it was and I weren't turning up to court and stuff like that and I think the help of having
the CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse) there at the court and you know sort of saying to
the magistrate that it weren't that I weren't bothered or didn't care, it was to do with
my mental health.
Liaison and diversion gives people the chance to turn their lives around. It was three years
ago that my life was a living hell it really was and looking back now it's just like you
know every day is a blessing you know. Just being able to get a shower and brush my teeth
you know they're luxuries to me today because they're things that I couldn't do.
You know it did really help me immensely and yeah I don't think I would be alive today
if I didn't have that intervention.