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Download the Liaison and Diversion Bulletin: October 2015
Welcome to the latest edition of the Liaison and Diversion (L&D) Bulletin, bringing you L&D news and updates together in one place.
This month we meet three of the Wave Two schemes to find out what how well they have been getting on with national roll-out and how they are delivering the model to meet the needs of their different communities.
We meet the South Yorkshire L&D service, which has just formally launched its service at a conference in Sheffield. We find out why the Hampshire L&D scheme was up and running so quickly. Plus, we learn all about the Peninsula L&D scheme’s novel ways to deliver a service in a challenging location with a sparse population.
We also have bumper News in Brief section, with good news to report from Devon and Norfolk & Suffolk, information about a new report on the experiences of families and carers of those in contact with the criminal justice system and a newly published suite of practical resources for L&D service managers and practitioners.
In this issue:
Meeting the needs of our communities
Meeting the needs of our communities: South Yorkshire
Meeting the needs of our communities: Hampshire
Meeting the needs of our communities: Devon and Cornwall
News in brief:
Good news round-up
Relative Justice – new report on the experiences of families and carers
Manager and practitioner resources available online
Service Specification Review
FBC and Integration update
Health Education England workforce report
KeyRing Learning Disabilities training
Meeting the needs of our communities
Over half of England’s population is now covered by a Liaison and Diversion (L&D) scheme. Since the launch of Wave Two back in April, thousands more children, young people and adults who come into contact with the criminal justice system are now receiving the support they need.
Over the last year and a half, we have featured the excellent work and dedication that all our schemes have demonstrated. We take a look at three schemes from the second wave to find out how they are delivering the L&D operating model in the very different and diverse communities in which they work.
Meeting the needs of our communities: South Yorkshire
The South Yorkshire L&D service is made up of three NHS Trusts: Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH), Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust (SHSC) and South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Each trust works closely with South Yorkshire Police and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Services (HMCTS).The partnerships that they have formed are critical to delivering a service that meets local need.
This month (October), all three NHS trusts formally launched their service at a one-day event that took place in Sheffield. The conference, which included delegates from NHS England, the Youth Justice Board (YJB), Offender Health Collaborative (OHC), other major stakeholders and Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, was well received with around 200 delegates in attendance.
Dr Billings told the audience: “I welcome the initiative to launch the South Yorkshire L&D service on behalf of NHS England. It brings together all the key partners to ensure that a co-ordinated response is available across south Yorkshire.
“I am particularly anxious that we make a difference for children and young people. We need to break patterns of offending and re-offending early in life.”
Claire Cairns, from the Offender Health Collaborative (OHC), together with the local commissioner and the central programme, helped support the scheme and brought the three trusts together. Claire said: “All three schemes are very different and all have different strengths. My role is to help the teams share their experiences and best practice. It’s great to see how the early findings from this programme show how the service in South Yorkshire has improved the outcomes for individuals of all ages who come into contact with the criminal justice system and that their very complex needs are now identified as factors for offending behaviour.”
South Yorkshire Liaison and Diversion scheme: Sheffield
Sohail Raza, who was recently appointed Team Leader for the Sheffield scheme said:
“This is a really exciting time for Sheffield. In the past we only had two L&D practitioners based at our Magistrates’ Court, offering an adult mental health service. Now, with extra funding from NHS England, we are recruiting six more professionals to the team, including one practitioner that will deal specifically with children and young people and learning disabilities, as well as recovery support workers that help service users with practical help and advice on things like attending appointments, housing, benefits, alcohol and drug support.
“This means that, for the first time ever, any vulnerable person coming in contact with Adult and Youth Criminal Justice System in Sheffield can have access to appropriate health and social care services.”
South Yorkshire Liaison and Diversion scheme: Rotherham and Doncaster
Paul Martin, Project Manager for the Doncaster and Rotherham L&D scheme, says that the reason they have been doing so well is because of the partnerships that they have developed over the last six months.
“We learnt that a successful L&D scheme cannot operate on its own. We work very closely with the other schemes and key organisations in the community and have received invaluable support from the Wakefield Wave One scheme.
And it isn’t just local schemes that have provided support:
“From colleagues in the Wave One London L&D scheme, I learnt that mental health charity Together for Mental Wellbeing had a T2A (Transition to Adulthood) project in Rotherham specifically aimed at young adults in the criminal justice system. They have been a unique asset to the team by providing us with support workers as well as peer support.”
Paul’s team has also learned a lot from the former Drug Interventions Programmes (DIP) in Rotherham and Doncaster and their experience of clients’ needs. Paul was able to compare the DIP experience with that of the mental health Access teams in the area in to help understand the local population and demand. Paul says: “It meant that once our team started, we were able to test what we had learned, and quickly confirm the need.”
Accommodation has proven to be one of the key needs for clients coming through the service, and is an issue to which they were first alerted by colleagues from Wakefield. As Paul explains:
“Many of the people that we see have housing issues either because they are homeless, sofa surfing, in debt or unable to manage their tenancy. As a result, we have just started a trial working with Action (a housing provider based in Rotherham) to have a housing adviser working across both our sites. This will allow us to measure the impact and decide if this is something we would wish to commission going into next year. Drug services in Doncaster previously used a similar service and we have adapted that idea.”
When asked what his plans for the team are going forward, Paul replied: “We are currently reviewing the core hours in which we operate. We altered our initial hours, based on our early experience in custody plus some work that Claire Cairns did using data from South Yorkshire Police to map the demand profile in the custody suites. Now we are six months further on so we need to check that we are still covering the core demand.”
The team uses quantitative and qualitative data from a range of sources to inform the ongoing development of the service. These include statistics from elsewhere in the Trust, such as use of the street triage car, and demand on access and crisis teams. Paul concludes, “The choices we make very much depend on the needs of the communities we serve.”
Rotherham and Doncaster case study
Forty-five-year-old Richard, who had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, was arrested for driving while disqualified. As a result, he missed an important appointment with the mental health treatment team.
Richard, who also had a history of self-harm and often had thoughts about ending his life, told the L&D team that he needed to get another appointment with the mental health treatment team so that we could get his antidepressant medication increased.
Richard also told the team that he had been living in a shared house for two years, which he found very difficult. Because of this he would often confine himself to his bedroom for long periods of time.
The L&D team offered him some follow-up support regarding his housing needs and an appointment was made for him to see his treatment team several days later. Through the L&D service Richard was given priority to access the local housing system and a few weeks later moved into his own place.
South Yorkshire Liaison and Diversion scheme: Barnsley
Prior to the roll-out of the national L&D model, Barnsley was an adult service. The existing team had established excellent links with HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), police, probation partners and local substance misuse services, among many others. However, when they found out they had been chosen for the Wave Two scheme, they knew that this would be an excellent opportunity to join forces with their existing Youth Offending Team and reach out to people at the very earliest opportunity.
As Janette Hawkins, who heads up the L&D team in Barnsley, explains:
“At the very early stages, the two teams spent a lot of time together identifying gaps and sharing specialist skills, while at the same time making sure that we were delivering a seamless service.
“Part of our work included finding ways to work alongside the stronger families and anti-social teams in our local community. So, to feed into the Strategic Children’s Pathway in South Yorkshire and, with the help of the Centre for Mental Health, we teamed up with various organisations in Barnsley to map out local services.
“We currently have three workers based with the Youth Offending Team, but they come to join us for meetings so that we have the whole team together to exchange information and develop standards.
“We believe that no vulnerable person should fall through the net. And, as our custody suite has currently been relocated to Ecclesfield to make way for a brand new police station, we hope to start working with voluntary attendees as soon as possible and deliver a service that is close to people’s homes.”
Barnsley case study
Sixty-nine year old Charles was arrested and bailed to a hostel in Rotherham as his offence was against his wife and daughter. L&D Rotherham contacted Barnsley the very next day explaining how Charles has a depressive illness. Charles was visited at the hostel and accommodated back in Barnsley within a few days.
Six weeks on, and Charles is now attending classes for anxiety management and confidence building at the local Recovery College. His wife also attends with him. He hopes to move back to the family home soon.
Meeting the needs of our communities: Hampshire
Hampshire’s L&D service covers the south east and south west of the region, incorporating two NHS trusts: Solent NHS Trust and Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Before Hampshire’s launch in April, there was only a very small team in place in Portsmouth that operated 9am-5pm from Monday to Friday. In addition, there were two practitioners offering a similar service in Southampton’s custody suites and courts.
Since its launch, 25 people now work across the two NHS trusts, 10 of whom are dedicated L&D practitioners. They now operate seven days a week, 12 hours a day (with out-of-hours coverage), covering all custody suites and courts in the area. And, the service also covers all vulnerable adults and children.
As Daran McFarland, Service Development Manager, explains:
“Over the last six months we have been able to expand our services. We cover all areas now and are able to reach people of different ages and different vulnerabilities. Our statistics show that we are growing healthily and steadily. In fact, we’re now seeing more than three times the number of people than ever before and we are pretty much close to capacity.”
One of the key groups for which the service caters is veterans, of which Hampshire, with its many Ministry of Defence locations, has a particularly high number. Daran says that they’ve been fortunate in having a specialist veterans’ practitioner in their extended team. “The police will always ask if someone is a veteran. We can then refer them onto Michaela (the veterans’ practitioner) and specialist local veterans’ services, with which we have good links.”
Daran attributes the success of the scheme to the relationships they have built with key stakeholders: “By working in partnership with police, courts, probation services and city councils we are better able to deliver a service that meets the needs of people in Hampshire.”
Key to building those relationships has been designing a service that also meets the needs of critical partners. For example, at the request of custody staff in Southampton, they moved their core hours forward by one hour, to operate between 9am and 9pm, rather than between 8am and 8pm as they do in Portsmouth. Southampton has a large, modern custody suite, with space for the L&D team to be fully embedded. But this means that their hours need to complement the daily routine for custody staff. It may be a small change, but Daran explains that the extra hour in the evening allows L&D practitioners to see and screen clients at a quieter time of the day, rather than during the much busier morning.
Finally, support from the Offender Health Collaborative, the Health and Justice Commissioner and the NHS England central programme team has also been critical to the early success of the Hampshire scheme.
Hampshire case study
Heidi was a very vulnerable woman who was referred to the L&D team by the police. She was found parked in the local woods under the influence of alcohol behind the wheel and, as such, was arrested for drink driving.
After requesting to be seen by the L&D team, it was discovered that Heidi has a number of problems. Her mother had refused to let her return to her address – and that is why she had been found sleeping in her car; and her employer had suspended her from her post for providing keys to an unauthorised person.
Heidi – who also had a long-term head injury – stated that she had attempted to take her own life three weeks ago and was suffering with depression. She was happy with the care from her GP, but her social situation made it hard for her to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Heidi was not charged and was released to the emergency housing organised by the L&D scheme. No further action was taken by the police.
The L&D team were able to signpost Heidi to East Hampshire housing options for longer-term assistance with this issue; they made an appointment with Headway to help her sort out her finances; and they helped her claim benefits for her disabilities.
Heidi was also given advice regarding her alcohol use, employment issues and signposted her to her GP and Headway for support. She was also advised to liaise with the Occupational Health Service to address her health issues and head injury.
Meeting the needs of our communities: Devon and Cornwall
The Peninsula L&D Service covers a big area, namely the Devon & Cornwall Police footprint including the Isles of Scilly (IoS), Plymouth and Torbay. The service is provided in partnership by Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CFT) and Devon Partnership NHS Trust (DPT).
The scheme, which is headed up by Paul Bell, Operations Manager and Forensic Lead, CFT Centre for Mental Health and Justice, builds on the lessons learned from the previous service in Cornwall, which has already shown to cut reoffending rates, helped to cut crime and ensured that people with mental health problems get the treatment they need.
But it has not been without its challenges. Due to the geographic area and scarcity of the population across Devon and Cornwall & IoS, the scheme has had to think of novel ways to get round the barriers that it faced.
Paul Bell explains: “Even before the Peninsula scheme was set up in April as part of Wave Two, the Cornwall L&D Scheme had been developing a rural model since 2012. We knew from previous experience that a crisis response system did not work well in sparsely populated areas. So, we developed a model based on the back of Custody L&D that would reach out into the community and make a positive impact, thus allowing neighbourhood policing teams to refer somebody that they had concerns for before they had committed a crime. This neighbourhood outreach model has served as a blueprint going forward and, with our partners in Devon, who have piloted an L&D service alongside a successful Street Triage service, it shows that partnership working can be successful and can respond to what is needed locally, even within one police force footprint.”
Forbes Earl, co-author of ‘Neighbourhood outreach: a novel approach to Liaison and Diversion’ explains: “Our initial research as a pathfinder site showed how the number of custody incidents involving people with mental health issues fell by almost 60 per cent and the number of court appearances dropped dramatically by 64 per cent. The project was working and from this we developed the model as we know it today.”
Anthony Reilly, Team Leader for Cornwall, said: “Prior to 2012, L&D was only provided in magistrates’ courts in Cornwall by a relatively small team. When the L&D and Neighbourhood outreach pilot was launched in 2012, we more than doubled the staff that we had and through our Wave Two L&D funding from NHS England in April this year, we have been able to build a bigger and more robust team of 10 people in Cornwall.”
The current team in Cornwall includes six L&D practitioners, two L&D support workers plus administration staff and management.
Over in Devon, Caroline Oakford & Karla Wilson-Palmer head up the L&D team, covering the whole of Devon from custody centres and courts based in Barnstaple, Exeter, Torquay and Plymouth. The Devon service had originally worked in custody only. With the extra Wave Two funding they were able to extend their services to the courts, seeing all vulnerabilities and all ages. There are currently three L&D practitioners in Barnstaple, three in Exeter, three in Torquay and five in Plymouth, plus admin and management support.
The Devon part of the service came online following partnership agreements between CFT and DPT. It formally became the Peninsula L&D Service in April this year. Partnership working means that CFT & DPT staff work to the same policies and protocols, and therefore provide the same service to clients whether in Devon, Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly. It also ensures that those transferred across health provider boundaries receive a seamless service.
Both Devon and Cornwall teams meet together or a regular basis to exchange ideas and good practice, helping to build positive working relationships across the whole Peninsula. The team leaders are also in weekly – if not daily – contact with one another.
Devon case study
Mr O had been referred to the L&D team in Devon by the Devon and Cornwall Probation Service after concerns about his deteriorating mental state, visual hallucinations, paranoia, erratic behaviour, multiple sclerosis and substance misuse.
The Police Community Support Officer and East Devon Housing Officer had attended a property following complaints from neighbours due to his erratic behaviour, noise and damage to his property.
Following a comprehensive assessment by the L&D team, he was referred to: his GP for physio assessments; the specialist MS Nurse and South West MS Centre for his multiple sclerosis; Mental Health Assessment East Devon for further assessment; RISE Recovery (a local substance misuse service) to address his amphetamine use; as well as being referred for housing support – where he is currently receiving ongoing support.
Cornwall case study
Police were called to the home of Mr P due to concerns for his mental state and alleged offences. Following L&D liaison with the police neighbourhood team, a joint visit to the home was arranged. The assessment took place at home with his family and police present. There was clear evidence of psychotic symptoms which were directly related to the suspected crime.
A referral was made to Early Intervention in Psychosis Team (EIT) and police agreed to a mental health diversion, with no further action being taken on the alleged offences.
The police also created a problem-solving plan for the family to aid any further contact they may have, with advice on managing Mr P’s mental state. Contact details for the treating team were also provided to allow liaison between police and EIT.
Mr P’s criminal behaviour has been identified as a consequence of his mental state at the time and this has allowed him to access appropriate treatment resulting in Mr P being diverted out of the criminal justice system at the earliest opportunity.
Mr P has since been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and, although he remains with EIT, he is now living independently with the support of his family, who have noticed vast improvements in his mental state and behaviour. Mr P is re-engaging with leisure activities, socialising with peers and is seeking voluntary work. There have been no further alleged crimes by Mr P, and police contact with the family has been greatly reduced.
Good news round up
Devon Partnership Trust scoops prestigious award
On 24 September, Devon Street Triage scheme (Devon Partnership Trust) won the ‘Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) South West Partnership Award’ for collaborative working with Devon and Cornwall Police, Plymouth Community Healthcare and Clinical Commissioning Group.
The award was presented by Angela Rippon to Karla Wilson-Palmer, Team Manager Peninsula Liaison and Diversion/Devon and Devon Street Triage Pilot Service and Sgt Richie Poole, Devon and Cornwall Police Street Triage Manager.
New support offered to vulnerable police detainees in Norfolk and Suffolk
The Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), along with Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies, the Samaritans (eastern region), the Liaison and Diversion Team in Norfolk and mental health charity Julian Support, have all signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to extend the support available to individuals at Norfolk and Suffolk’s Police Investigation Centres (PICs).
By working together, the partnership now offers a range of services including:
calls available within cells from detainees to Samaritans (in accordance with the Samaritans’ confidentiality policy);
referrals to designated Samaritans branches on release from custody; and
briefings being offered to Constabulary, NSFT Liaison & Diversion and Justice Support staff to give them greater understanding of the Samaritans’ work.
Ian Trenholm from NSFT Liaison & Diversion, said: “This is a great example of partnership working which will benefit individuals in crisis and demonstrates how we are focused on supporting people to improve their health and well-being, and also reduce reoffending behaviours.
If you have a good news story to share from your scheme, send it to england.liaisonanddiversion@nhs.net.
Relative Justice – new report on the experiences of families and carers
A new report by the Prison Reform Trust and Partners of Prisoners (POPS), ‘Relative Justice’, examines the experiences and views of family members of people with multiple and complex needs, including mental health problems, learning disabilities or autism in contact with criminal justice and L&D services.
Research shows that families can play an important role in helping their relative to live a safe, healthy and productive life – helping them to reduce reoffending, aiding recovery and providing support. However, families often need help too; for example, to help mitigate the negative consequences that contact with criminal justice services can have on family relationships and on the well-being of the family unit.
Located in police custody suites and the criminal courts, L&D services are well placed to engage with family members at an early stage.
Family members who participated in the research highlighted the need for better information about their relative and the criminal justice process, as well as help to access local services, and moral support – having a ‘trusted’ person to turn to who is non-judgmental and can help answer questions. Support for families, however, wasn’t just about overcoming ‘deficits’; it was also about building on the strengths and resilience of family members. One mother said she wanted to be ‘empowered’ to support her son in contact with criminal justice services, and her family. Family members described how they, in turn, could support L&D services by providing relevant information about their relative and, where necessary, help to ensure they attend health and justice appointments.
Family members in contact with L&D services spoke highly of the support they and their relative received:
“[The liaison and diversion worker] let me speak and would ask us questions. She showed an interest in us as a family… She wasn’t in any way judgmental… She understood what we were going through.”
The report made 12 recommendations under the following five headings:
Support for families – recommends a role for L&D services, and the need for local family support services.
Awareness of, and contact with, L&D services – recommends how services can best promote their services to families.
Confidentiality – recognises an individual’s decision to choose not to share information, but tries to ensure an informed and ‘fluid’ decision-making process.
Awareness training – on the impact that contact with criminal justice services can have on families, leading to greater understanding of need and appropriate referrals.
The role of families in service development – which would help to monitor and inform service development through to national roll-out.
For further information contact jenny.talbot@prisonreformtrust.org.uk.
Manager and practitioner resources available online
Eight practical how-to guides for L&D service managers and practitioners have just been published online. Produced by the Offender Health Collaborative on behalf of NHS England, the guides cover the following topics:
Intelligence gathering – using data to design a service that addresses local population needs.
Developing an all-age response to meet the age-specific needs of service users.
The core and extended teams.
Designing an effective and efficient case identification, screening and assessment process.
Provision for people with a known or suspected learning disability
Service user involvement.
Developing referral pathways for key vulnerabilities.
Police and courts – the justice pathway for young people and adults, key legislation and stakeholders at each point of intervention – including the voluntary attendance process.
The guides are designed for quick reference, and include case studies, checklists and links to more information.
Read and download the resources.
Service specification review
The programme team has recently conducted a review of the L&D national service specification. Building on the evidence gained from mobilisation and trialling of the service specification at our 26 trial sites, our objective was to consider how to better articulate what commissioners are expected to commission and what providers are expected to provide.
We held a series of six workshops to consider specific aspects of the specification, children and young people, the range of vulnerabilities, voluntary assessment, pre-release assessment, screening tools and Crown Court provision. We consulted with commissioners, providers and wider stakeholders while drafting the revised specification. The core principles of the original specification remain, but we have taken the opportunity to provide greater clarity on adult and children and young people’s pathways, and more detail on issues such as effective participation and the level of Crown Court provision.
An NHS England Expert Panel has validated the clinical effectiveness of the revised specification, which will be published shortly on the NHS England website.
FBC and integration update
Over the last year, the L&D programme team have been working hard to produce a full business case (FBC) for submission to HM Treasury. If approved, the FBC will allow the programme to roll out the new national service specification to 100 per cent of the English population.
The programme has reached a big milestone by submitting the FBC for formal internal review by NHS England and Department of Health. It will then be passed to HM Treasury mid-November for approval. We expect to receive a decision by HM Treasury in early January.
The programme team commissioned KPMG and the OHC to investigate how L&D might be integrated/co-commissioned with other health services within the justice system, and how NHS England may develop the market not only for L&D services but also for integrated health and justice services.
In light of their report, NHS England will investigate the option of integration of police custody healthcare with L&D in the first instance, whilst maintaining the quality and integrity of the individual services. Responsibility for commissioning of police custody healthcare is expected to transfer to the NHS in April 2016, subject to ministerial agreement. Apart from the potential for cost savings, the expected benefits of integration will be to streamline criminal justice proceedings, improve information sharing between health and justice partners, contribute to a reduction in reoffending and improve service user experience.
Health Education England workforce report
Health Education England (HEE) are mandated under the current financial year to undertake analysis of the L&D workforce to ensure that the right workforce are in place for 100 per cent roll-out of the specification and to ensure suitable training programmes are available to L&D services to enable services to be appropriately staffed.
HEE commissioned Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust to undertake a project to look into the impact of 100 per cent roll-out, workforce challenges and successes, and training needs. The project started with a data collection exercise from Wave 1 and 2 schemes, which included workforce information such as team profiles, sickness, training and qualifications. HEE used this information to start modelling the workforce and understand the impact of full roll-out. Following the data collection four focus groups took place across the country where representatives from all trial schemes attended to share and discuss workforce challenges in more detail. They spoke about the team configuration, skill requirements of all roles within the team, career development and also training. The discussions proved to be very positive with the schemes, who not only shared challenges, but also ways to overcome them.
A final report was submitted to the programme which included findings and recommendations. HEE found that, as expected, the majority of the L&D core team were qualified registered mental health nurses who had a background in adult mental health and were employed by the NHS. The focus groups discussed the importance of including staff with a specialist background within the production of vulnerability pathways and training. This helps to aid the retention of those specialist staff. There was particular emphasis on including a range of backgrounds in the core team such as social workers, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists. In order to aid recruitment from these backgrounds, it was suggested that providers should advertise on other recruitment platforms as well as NHS jobs. Support time and recovery workers were found overwhelmingly to be supporting the L&D workforce, and services found it useful to recruit outside the NHS as those coming from the independent sector often have greater knowledge of community resource. Project management was vital to all schemes during mobilisation, especially those schemes that operated across a range of providers.
HEE confirmed that if the programme rolls out the specification to 100 per cent of the country, nationally there will be enough workforce for L&D to cover this increase. However, they also found that locally there were challenges with some schemes on having the right level of staffing, especially when services have substantial distances between sites. The programme and HEE will be discussing this area in more detail as this could not be measured within the scope of the project.
HEE recommended that the model implementation guidance should articulate the requirement for staff with experience of working with people with a learning disability, in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services or with children and young people. They recommended that the support time worker role should be better articulated within the model. HEE also recommended that postgraduate training should be developed and commissioned and minimum standards established within the pre-registration curriculum.
KeyRing Learning Disability training
KeyRing charity has been awarded a three-year grant to roll out learning disability training to frontline staff working in the criminal justice system. In partnership with the L&D programme, KeyRing are rolling out this training to all L&D schemes, police forces and police custody healthcare providers in England.
The training will provide delegates with an understanding of what a learning disability and speech, language and communication difficulty is and how to communicate to those who may have such an issue. The training focuses specifically on the criminal justice system and how to spot these issues within custody or court.
The training will take place on the following dates:
30 October, Taunton
6 November, Leeds
13 November, London
20 November, London
3 December, Birmingham
Places are available for frontline L&D and custody staff, but are limited. Please contact england.liaisonanddiversion@nhs.net for more information on booking a place.