£12m Ministerial support will help build on our success
The announcement of the approval by Ministers of the Full Business Case marks an important milestone in the rollout of Health & Justice Liaison & Diversion services.
This is an exciting time to build on the success of the Liaison & Diversion services that currently cover over 50% of the population of England, providing early intervention for vulnerable people, adults, children and their families that have been identified within the criminal justice system within police custody, the youth justice system or the magistrate and crown courts.
The government announcement of an additional £12million funding over the next two years enabling coverage to at least 75% and, subject to evaluation, roll out to 100% for 2021 is an important moment for not only the increased parity of mental health services within the criminal justice system but also for the continuation of improved access, integration and requirements for physical health and the approach of care not custody, care in custody, care after custody.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking at an event with a member of the Lived Experience Team who has been involved from day one in supporting, advising and developing Liaison & Diversion services as part of the voice of service users and their families.
The powerful story he recalled of his personal journey and experience, thanking Liaison & Diversion services for ‘sticking with him’, emphasised how intervention from healthcare at the right time in a criminal justice setting helps to motivate and reassure people and can change a person’s future for the better.
Many of the audience praised the work of Liaison & Diversion teams and the multi-agency approach that they have noticed in their geographical areas. They noted the importance of healthcare interventions within the criminal justice system and also the need to ensure a person centred approach when supporting this group of vulnerable individuals that are often in and out of healthcare services.
Over the coming months and years the development and extension of Liaison & Diversion services across England will enable healthcare colleagues and partners in the criminal justice system to work together to ensure quality healthcare, early intervention and the reduction of risk, including suicide and self-harm.
We know there are many challenges in developing our services across England, for example the increase in substance misuse, including new psychoactive substances, and problematic alcohol use, as well as complex trauma and often physical healthcare issues which have been previously undetected.
The government’s announcement is an important development to support the reduction of health inequalities and to bring about improvements in rehabilitation.
Kate Davies
Kate Davies CBE, Director of Health and Justice, Armed Forces and Sexual Assault Services Commissioning, NHS England.
Kate is the national director for healthcare services across England for Armed Forces serving personnel, veterans and their families; sexual assault referral centres (SARCs); and prisons, immigration removal centres and secure children’s homes and training centres. Her national role is to assure high quality, consistent and sustained services with a strong focus on health inequalities and outcomes for patients and their families.
Kate has developed and led national partnership agreements with the Ministry of Defence for Armed Forces commissioning, the Ministry of Justice for prisons and the children and young people secure estate and the Home Office for immigration removal centres. These agreements focus on core objectives and outcomes across Government for key patient areas that can only be delivered in partnership.
From a health and justice perspective, she has led the development of the national Liaison & Diversion Programme and Street Triage, the roll out of community sentence treatment requirements and the launch of RECONNECT to support prison leavers transition to community health and wellbeing services. Kate has facilitated the roll-out of increased provision for survivors of sexual violence, the launch of the Strategic Direction for Sexual Assault and Abuse Services and the development of enhanced sexual assault and abuse pathfinder services for individuals with complex trauma mental health needs.
Prior to her current role, Kate worked in a range of senior positions, including the Executive Lead for Prison, Detainee and SARCs Healthcare Commissioning for East Midlands; the strategic director of the award-winning Nottinghamshire County Drug and Alcohol Action Team, where she co-ordinated and delivered the Government’s National Drug Strategy; and the Director of Black and Ethnic Minority Community Engagement at the University of Central Lancashire, International School for Communities Rights and Inclusion. This follows her early career, when she worked as a probation office in the probation service.
In addition, Kate has been a Non-Executive Director on the National Treatment Agency Board and a member of the Government’s independent Board for the Prison Drug Treatment Strategy Patel Review, which implemented the Substance Treatment Service and strategy and delivery across England. She has also been an Ambassador for Diversity in Public Appointments for the Government Public Appointments Commission.
Kate’s strong leadership style and commitment to lived experience, co-production and addressing health inequalities, has led to her being awarded an OBE in 2009 for services for disadvantaged communities and a CBE in 2018, for her work to improve services for some of the most vulnerable groups. She is also an Honorary Doctor of Staffordshire University in recognition of her commitment to health and social equality.
One comment
Is this an Article about ” … the rollout of Health & Justice Liaison & Diversion services.”, or a barely disguized puff for the author?
Their CV is longer than the info about the subject matter.
On that marginal matter – does £12m, over two years, compensate much for the vicious slashing of Legal Aid – something which gets no mention at all in this peon of praise for a paltry prize.