section 136-part 3

local policy and monitoring of standards
1 Local commissioners should have responsibility for ensuring the establishment of a multi-agency group to develop jointly agreed

Royal College of Psychiatrists
Executive summary and recommendations
policies and procedures. The group’s membership should involve all appropriate agencies and so should include the ambulance service, emergency departments and user and carer organisations including, where appropriate, a representative of the Black and minority ethnic user groups. This report gives detailed guidance as to its membership, role and issues to be covered in the local policy.
2 The implementation group should ensure that local polices are disseminated to all involved in the Section 136 process and ensure their effective implementation including the provision of training in relation to the policy.
3 A standard recording form should be used. This can also be used for monitoring purposes and will ensure reliable information on all individuals detained under Section 136.
4 Use of a nationally agreed standard form would assist monitoring and allow local, regional and national comparisons to be made. A model form is offered which would enable the key issues to be monitored. These include the number of detentions, characteristics of the group thus detained, the place of safety used, any transfers between places of safety, time taken to begin and complete the assessment and the outcome. Given the over-representation of those from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds this issue needs to be sensitively monitored. The information should help identify issues to highlight in training and any changes needed in local procedures. It is recommended that a few sites be identified for early implementation of the form with a careful review process before it is adopted for use nationally.
5 The Care Quality Commission should report annually on the standards of care in relation to Section 136. This should include trends in the use of places of safety and outcomes experienced by service users. A body should be tasked with monitoring the standards of care relating to police involvement including the use of the police custody suite. This might be the National Police Improvement Agency.