In this letter Tim Kendall, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Mental Health sets out NHS England’s position that serenity integrated mentoring (SIM) or similar models must no longer be used in NHS mental health services. More specifically, the following three elements, which were all included within SIM but were not exclusive to it, must be eradicated from mental health services.

• Police involvement in the delivery of therapeutic interventions in planned, non-emergency, community mental health care (this is not the same as saying all joint work with the police must stop).
• The use of sanctions (criminal or otherwise), withholding care and otherwise punitive approaches, as clarified in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance.
• Discriminatory practices and attitudes towards patients who express self harm behaviours, suicidality and/or those who are deemed ‘high intensity users’.