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Secure Services Forensic Community Teams

  • The Secure Services Forensic Community Teams provide recovery-focused community care. This is for offenders who have been, or are being, discharged from a secure unit.

  • Service Manager Lead: Pacival (Percy) Mupemhi (Operational Manager)
  • Service Contact: 01473 322252
  • Address:
    Cedar House,  17 Ribbans Park Road,  Foxhall Road, Ipswich, IP3 8XL
  • Reception hours: Monday to Friday between 9:00 and 17:00

What this service offers

The team includes doctors, nurses, support workers, psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers and admin staff. A designated community responsible clinician leads the care using our services in the community.  

The responsibilities of the Secure Services Forensic Community Teams include: 

  • extensive liaison with the Ministry of Justice 

  • provision of social supervision reports 

  • expert risk assessments 

  • Care Programme Approach processes 

  • administration and monitoring of medication and  

  • identifying referral pathways to help a service user transfer to recovery teams or primary care.  

Our community team works towards community rehabilitation for service users. It encourages and supports people to consider applying for discharge from the Mental Health Act. The ultimate aim is someone's transfer to general services or primary care.  

We work with people to reduce risk at all times. We discuss crisis plans, agree and share with crisis resolution home treatment teams. This ensures out of hours support at all times.  

 
Conditions we treat in this service:  

Bipolar disorder

Depression

Offending behavior

Personality disorder  

Schizophrenia  

Severe enduring mental illness

Access this service

The referral criteria for this service are:  

  • Existing mental health diagnosis: Psychosis, Bipolar or Personality Disorder  

  • Violent offence - convicted  

  • Violent behaviour amounting to an offence as above, but not charged or convicted for technical reasons. For example this reason could be unfit for interview, or a near miss. The violence would normally involve serious harm – life threatening or life-changing injuries.  

  • Care and treatment needs that would best be met in a service for adults  

  • Resident in Norfolk or Suffolk  

  • Currently under the care of Community Mental Health Team (CMHT), or equivalent team, with Care Programme Approach (CPA) care coordination  

  • Receiving inpatient treatment under CPA  

  • Considered to be a notable risk of harm to others  

  • Thought likely to benefit from the input of a specialist community forensic team.  

How can people get referred to this service?   

  • A Forensic Community Mental Health Team (FCMHT) referral form must be completed for all referrals (internal/external).  

    The form should give a clear sense of why the referral is being made. Including biographical and risk history improves the quality of the care we provide.  

    The referral needs to have reviewed in a Multi-disciplinary Treatment (MDT) meeting such as ward round or CPA. A senior clinician needs to support the referral.  

    Initial assessment and if accepted, in-reach to unit. When discharged, full multi-disciplinary input in the community.  

How this service support carers including friends and family

  • Service users and a people participation lead produce a regular newsletter for the FCMHT.   

  • Participation Steering Group - helping mobilise the structure for Community Service User voice.  

  • Recovery and Vocational Advisory Group – focusing on areas that they agree need attention. This includes vocational courses, education and employability skills for community patients. This also includes discharge planning process.   

  • Service Development Advisory Group – focusing on areas that they agree need attention. This might include community patient feedback and quality improvement.   

  • Development of a Community Hub and the Community Newsletter which signposts social networking, community volunteering and engagement.   

  • Participation Leads in Community Team – Championing and signposting Participation Opportunities.  

Urgent help

Telephone number (urgent): If you are a service user, you are in crisis and need support urgently, you contact the service (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm): 01473 322252.

Between 8am and 8pm, contact the crisis team via the Access and Admission team: 0300 123 1334.  

Call 111 and select the mental health option to speak to our 24 hour mental health crisis line.

If you are with someone who has attempted suicide, call 999 and stay with them until the ambulance arrives. 

If anyone is at serious risk of harm, call 999 and ask for the police. 

For non-life threatening medical situations, call NHS111 on 111.  

For more information, see Help in a Crisis. 

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