Campaigners call for more cash and beds after ban on mental health cell use

In a statement Home Secretary Theresa May and care minister Norman Lamb said they will halt the use of police cells being used to hold under-18s suffering a mental health crisis.

This follows a joint Home Office and Department of Health (DH) review into the way police deal with people with mental health issues.

But the charity YoungMinds says the change will be ineffective if investment is not made in providing safe appropriate accommodation.

Sarah Brennan, chief executive of YoungMinds, said: “It is appalling that children and young people are held in police cells because there is no other place of safety for them. However, this legislation alone is not the answer. There must be funds available so that there is an increase in the number of safe appropriate beds that local areas can access easily and quickly.

“If this does not happen then the change to the law will have a knock-on effect that will see children and young people transported hundreds of miles across the country or placed on adult wards which the Mental Health Act already states should not happen.”

Brennan pointed to concerns already raised by the Care Quality Commission that even when available beds are found young people detained under the Mental Health Act are often refused access because they are said to be too vulnerable.

“Changing the law is a laudable action but this must be backed up by fully resourced, locally based, appropriate provision which fully meets the needs of children and young people undergoing the truly frightening experience of a mental health crisis,” she said.

In making the announcement May said: “I am determined to put an end to children who are suffering a mental illness being detained in police cells. There is no place for this in our society.”

Lamb added: “It’s essential that anyone experiencing a mental health crisis gets urgent, compassionate care in the right environment. I’ve been very clear that I want to ban the use of police cells for under-18s who need mental health care.”

The move follows a rise in the number of children and young people held in police cells under the Mental Health Act in Devon and Cornwall over the past year.

This latest announcement coincides with the release of a DH- and Home Office-commissioned report by the Centre for Mental Health into the use of police powers under the act.

Those detained by police under the act told researchers it was a frightening experience.

The report backed a ban on the detention of under-18s in police custody as well as calls for better commissioning of alternative safe accommodation for this vulnerable group. Improved partnerships between police, health and social care professionals are also needed, the report added.