Right Care Right Person - Transportation of Patients
Statement of Policy
The safe, timely and appropriate transport of a person to and between health settings should be routinely carried out by hospital or ambulance transport.
Police transport of a person to, or between health settings should only be used exceptionally, such as in cases of extreme urgency or where there is an immediate risk of violence which cannot be safely mitigated by officers travelling with the patient in a health vehicle.
Applies (but not limited) to: All categories of Dyfed-Powys Police officers and staff, whether full-time, part-time, permanent, fixed term, temporary (including agency staff, associates and contractors), seconded staff and volunteers. Police Officers, staff and volunteers accessing and using Force assets and property must have due regard to the contents of this policy.
2. Policy Scope
This policy provides an overview of how Dyfed-Powys Police will determine the response to calls for service that request for transport of a person to a health
care setting, or between healthcare settings. This includes the transporting of patients to the following settings:
- Hospital Emergency Departments
- Acute Hospital
- Urgent treatment centres (e.g., Minor Injury Units)
- Mental health care settings (e.g., in-patient hospitals, outpatient services, and
- residential settings).
- GP Surgery
- Any other NHS facility where a patient has attended for treatment, whether physical or psychological.
It is the policy of Dyfed-Powys Police that patients requiring transportation to one or more of the above settings, be taken to that place in a manner most likely to preserve their privacy and dignity whilst also being able to deliver the right level of care.
A police vehicle is not the preferred vehicle to transport a person who has physical or mental health needs. However, in certain circumstances, it may be the necessary form of conveyance. These circumstances can include where the person requiring transportation has been or is currently violent.
In these circumstances officers should initially consider where they are required
to transport a person to, or whether they can travel in a health vehicle to support health colleagues in maintaining the safety of everyone.
This policy applies to all police officers, police staff and volunteers who are involved in situations where transportation to a health care setting has been requested.
Dyfed-Powys Police works in partnership with other responsible authorities in relation to the delivery of this policy. This policy is linked to documents that are partially owned by responsible authorities other than Dyfed-Powys Police where review of content may be required.
3. Powers and Policy/Legal Requirements
The Mental Health Act 1983
The ‘Mental Health Act 1983: Code of Practice for Wales states that patients in mental health crisis should be transported to and from hospital by the safest and most appropriate means.
Internal
Dyfed-Powys Police Right Care Right Person Phase 1 & 2 Policy, Procedure and Guidance
Dyfed-Powys Police Right Care Right Person Phase 3 & 4 Procedure
Dyfed-Powys Police Mental Health Policy
4. Options and Contingencies
Definition
The definition of ‘transport’ covers cases where patients are both compulsorily transported under the Mental Health Act, and requests for police to support transport of a patient outside of the Act including:
- taking patients to hospital to receive medical treatment for physical conditions or injury,
- including victims of crimes and those involved in traffic collisions.
- taking patients to hospital to be detained for any assessment or treatment.
- transferring patients between hospitals, or other health facility.
- taking and returning patients who are subject to guardianship to the place their guardian requires them to live.
- taking patients to, and between, health-based places of safety.
- transferring patients between hospital, including special hospitals, court and/or prison.
- returning patients home from hospital, or any other health facility.
Legal Duty and Police Powers
- There is no legal duty for police to transport people to health care settings to receive treatment.
- However, there may be an occasion where an officer is required to accompany a person to a hospital.
This includes:
- Individuals in Police Custody following an arrest.
- Individuals detained under section 135 or 136 of the Mental Health Act.
- Individuals detained under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
- Returning patients to hospital if they are absent without leave (AWOL).
- Returning people to hospital if they are on community treatment order (CTO), or conditional discharge and have been recalled.
- Transferring patients between hospital, including special hospitals, court and/or prison.
An ambulance or other suitable vehicle, with health staff, will normally be the most appropriate method of transporting an individual in need of, or who is receiving mental health support.
Section 135 Transfers to Health-Care Settings
When taking a person to a place of safety by virtue of a section 135 warrant, the Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP), s12 Doctors, hospital manager should ensure transport is available in accordance with the S135 Multi Agency (Police/Health &Local Authority) Policy.
Section 136 Transfers to Health-Care Settings
When an officer detains an individual in a public place using their power under the MHA 1983 s136, they must request an ambulance. A health-based vehicle should be used to transport all s136 detentions.
Deprivation of Liberty Status (DoLS) transportation
Officers may be requested to assist in conveying a person with a Deprivation of Liberty Status[DoLS] to a particular address. There is no legal obligation for Officers to respond to requests to transport, and it is unlikely these requests involve circumstances carrying the type of real and immediate threat necessary to engage a duty on the police to act.
Unless the DoLS specifies police involvement is needed, or there is an immediate risk to the individual (ECHR article 2 or 3), then police will not be deployed to transport the individual.
Taken from Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) – Mental Capacity Ltd DoLS definition is:
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) is a vital part of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) which protects the rights of individuals 18 years and older who cannot consent to their care and treatment, in a care/nursing home or hospital, while said care and treatment amount to a deprivation of liberty.
As a statutory act, it is the legal obligation of any managing authority (i.e. care/nursing home or hospital) to apply for a DoLS authorisation where it is deemed necessary to deprive the individual of their liberty in order to safeguard and protect them.
Important: Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) will soon be replaced by Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS). However, this change is now not expected to come into force until 2025.
The Code of Ethics principles are relevant to this policy and the associated procedure
- Courage
- Respect and Empathy
- Public Service
5. Take action and review
This policy and the associated procedure document will be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that it remains fit for purpose, to address any challenges to the policy and procedure and/or to address any changes to national guidelines or legislation.
The policy owner will be responsible for the review and any requested changes made to the policy and/or procedure. The policy and procedure will be monitored and overseen by the Strategic Vulnerability and Prevention Board.
CODE OF ETHICS CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Code of Ethics and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Code and the principles underpinning it.
HUMAN RIGHTS ACT CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Human Rights Act and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Act and the principles underpinning it.
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the protected characteristics that qualify for protection under the Act as follows: Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Pregnancy and Maternity; Race; Religion or Belief; Sex; Sexual Orientation.
The public sector equality duty places a proactive legal requirement on public bodies to have regard, in the exercise of their functions, to the need to:
- eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is unlawful under the Act;
- advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;
- foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
The equality duty applies to all protected characteristics with the exception of Marriage and Civil Partnership, to which only the duty to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination applies.
Carrying out an equality impact assessment involves systematically assessing the likely or actual effects of policies on people in respect of all the protected characteristics set out above. An equality impact assessment should be carried out on any policy that is relevant to the public sector equality duty.
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT COMPLETED: June 2025