GIRFT has released new clinical operational standards to support timely, safe, and effective care for people presenting in mental health crisis across the urgent and emergency care pathway.  

This best practice guidance has been developed in response to significant and sustained pressures on mental health urgent and emergency services, wide variation in performance, and ongoing concerns regarding prolonged waits and patient experience. 

The GIRFT Clinical Operational Standards for Adult Mental Health in Urgent and Emergency Care describe the expected actions, responses and timeframes required of clinical and operational teams to ensure people receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time. 

The Clinical Operational Standards are intended to be used as a practical framework by providers and systems to support consistent decision making and escalation, with clinical teams working collaboratively across services including emergency departments, acute specialties and mental health services.  

The standards cover four key areas across the pathway: 

• Clinically deteriorating community patients and those at risk of admission, including proactive identification, crisis planning and timely senior clinical decision making. 

• Patients requiring an emergency response, setting expectations for 24/7 crisis services, rapid face‑to‑face assessment and appropriate use of Health Based Places of Safety. 

• Patients in the emergency departments of acute hospitals, including response times for liaison psychiatry, parallel physical and mental health assessment, trauma‑informed care and management of delays and escalation. 

• Mental health inpatient flow, focusing on purposeful admission, timely senior review, daily multidisciplinary team oversight, and proactive discharge planning. 

Together, these standards aim to improve patient flow, reduce unnecessary waits and delays, and ensure a safer and more responsive experience for people experiencing mental health crisis. 

To support awareness, understanding and implementation of the standards, GIRFT will be running a webinar on Thursday 21 May, 12:00-13:00. The session will provide an overview of the standards, their intended use, and how systems and providers can begin to embed them in practice. Register here.