Mitie has been awarded a £15M contract by Greater Manchester Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership. The pioneering three-year contract comes with the option to extend for two further one year periods.
For the first time in the UK, police and health chiefs have joined forces to provide an integrated healthcare and liaison and diversion service in custody suites, at court and in the community.
Mitie Care & Custody Health will coordinate the ‘Integrated Health, Liaison and Diversion Partnership’, bringing together three partner organisations to provide integrated services, including 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Cheshire and Greater Manchester Community Rehabilitation Company, and North and East London Commissioning Support Unit.
This means people of all ages who commit, or are suspected of a crime, will be health assessed while in custody and those with mental health issues, learning disabilities, substance misuse or other vulnerabilities will be supported to access appropriate services. The service will also operate in courts.
Greater Manchester Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd said: “If we are to effectively reduce reoffending and protect the vulnerable we need to think innovatively about how we commission services. People who find themselves in a police cell often have underlying health issues that may cause them to offend, such as mental ill health or substance abuse, so it’s common sense to bring police and health together.
“I’m pleased we have appointed the Mitie partnership to deliver this vital service, which will provide a lifeline to thousands of vulnerable people, offering help and support to those who may have previously fallen through the net.”
Seb Stewart, Managing Director at Mitie, commented: “We're delighted to be working with Greater Manchester health and justice partners and to have brought together a credible, forward-thinking partnership of organisations to deliver fully integrated, innovative services to the police, courts and community of Greater Manchester, supporting better health outcomes for patients, and contributing to a reduction in re-offending.
“This is strategically a very significant contract for Mitie as we expand our presence in the custodial and healthcare services market. We look forward to building a strong partnership with Greater Manchester over the coming years.”
Lord Peter Smith, Chair of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Strategic Partnership Board, said: “This is an excellent example of bringing public service partners together as a new way of commissioning in Greater Manchester in tune with our wider ambition of working better together to deliver better results. By joining things up in this way, we will not just help individuals but also our wider communities by helping reduce reoffending."
The contract has been won by Mitie’s Care & Custody Health business – which provides forensic medical and sexual assault referral centre (SARC) examination services to a number of police forces across the UK.
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For further information, contact:
Lauren Hepburn, Investor and Public Relations Manager, Mitie Group plc
T:+44 20 3123 8720 E:lauren.hepburn@mitie.com
John Telling, Corporate Affairs Director, Mitie Group plc
T:+44 20 3123 8673 E:john.telling@mitie.com
