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The fall and rise of 'mental health' diversion
- Authors:
- PAKES Francis, WINSTONE Jane
- Journal article citation:
- Prison Service Journal, 177, May 2008, pp.43-47.
- Publisher:
- Her Majesty's Prison Service of England and Wales
The notion and practice of diversion of individuals with mental health problems has undergone transformations in the last twenty years. The 'classic' conception of diversion is the removal of an individual away from prison (or remand) into a health setting. Currently many diversion schemes offer information to the courts and support the disordered individual without diversion being the over-riding objective. Their operation might be seen as a mixture of assessment, referral, liaison and advocacy. This article describes areas of effective practice identified from a comprehensive literature review, and key findings from a pilot study.
A site visit survey of 101 mental health liaison and diversion schemes in England
- Authors:
- PAKES Francis, WINSTONE Jane
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (The), 21(6), December 2010, pp.873-886.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This article presents the findings of a site visit audit of all known assessment, liaison and diversion schemes in England. The Lord Bradley Review (2009) placed great importance upon such teams to be a hub of service provision for individuals with mental health needs who pass through the criminal justice system. This study was commissioning to assess current practice and derive indicators of best practice in order to inform the Lord Bradley Review. The Mental Health Effective Practice Audit Checklist (MHEP-AC) standard was administered as part of site visits to 101 assessment, liaison and diversion teams and schemes by trained assessors with extensive experience in the area of criminal justice and mental health. Seven areas of practice were surveyed using the MHEP-AC standard: screening; assessment; facilitating access to mental health support; information exchange; multi-agency arrangements; liaison; data collection and analysis. The results demonstrates that although these schemes carry out their core function of undertaking mental health assessments well, their organisational embedding is often poor and their sustainability questionable. Indicators for best practice regarding the shape and operation of these teams are identified and discussed.