Decision details

The Council has a statutory duty to have an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) service with sufficient professional resources (AMHPs) to operate on a 24-hour, 7 day a week basis and meet demand. Following a referral, AMHPs undertake assessments to determine if an individual should be admitted, detained and treated in hospital for a mental disorder without their consent.

A review of the AMHP Service in 2019 found issues with practice requiring improvement and recommended a new service model as the best way to address this.  This recommendation has been developed further into the proposed new operating model for the AMHP Service which will deliver a statutory, high quality and sufficient service.

The proposed new operating model is for a 24/7 hub and spoke (hybrid) AMHP service. This model has been trialled on an interim basis since February 2020 using short-term funding and has proved to be successful. Similar models are in place in neighbouring authorities.

The AMHP service is provided by West Sussex County Council working in close partnership with other organisations, including Sussex Police, South East Coast Ambulance (SECAMb) Service, Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust (SPFT) and acute hospital trusts.

To ensure a high quality AMHP service, the Interim Executive Director Adults and Health has approved a new operating model for the AMHP service, as set out in paragraph 2 of the report.  The new model will be introduced from 1 January 2021.

None.