The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), in partnership with Health colleagues, will introduce Phase Two of the Right Care Right Person (RCRP) programme on 1 November 2026.

RCRP is a national initiative designed to reshape how public services, particularly police, respond to calls so that people with health, mental health, social care or safeguarding needs receive the earliest and most suitable help from the service best equipped to provide it.

Phase One, a revised Code of Practice to the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, came into effect on Tuesday 1 September.

Following agreement with Health partners, the second major stage of implementation, focusing on checks concerning a person's welfare, will go live on 1 November 2026.

The PSNI fields over 35,000 concern-for-welfare calls each year, although in many cases police are not the most appropriate service to deliver the care or support required.

Where health or social care professionals are best placed to respond, RCRP will help ensure individuals receive timely, specialist support from those services.

To support the launch, PSNI contact management staff are being given new guidance, a decision-making toolkit and in-person training, while all other frontline officers and staff will complete mandatory online training.

Speaking about this change Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said: "The implementation of Right Care, Right Person will strengthen the way we work alongside partner agencies to support people who come to us for help.

"Not all welfare concerns require police and stage 2 of RCRP will see PSNI no longer attending those concern for safety calls which do not meet our thresholds; we will instead be signposting to other agencies.

"However, I want to be very clear, the PSNI are not walking away from all health or mental health incidents. There will continue to be circumstances in which PSNI is the appropriate service to respond, including where a crime has been committed or there is a real and immediate risk to life or serious harm. "This will be a significant change for police officers and staff, health colleagues and for members of the public. However, I am confident that we are well prepared to manage this change effectively"

Health Minister Robbie Butler said: "Mental health has long been an issue of importance to me and remains one of my key priorities as Health Minister. I am committed to ensuring that people experiencing mental health difficulties receive the support, care and treatment they need, when they need it.

"Right Care, Right Person is an initiative being introduced by the PSNI to ensure that people receive support from the service best placed to respond to their needs and to improve their situation. The overarching aim is to ensure that individuals receive the most appropriate response based on their needs and circumstances. Where a person's needs are primarily health or social care related, they should receive support from the service best placed to provide the care, expertise and intervention required.

"This change comes at a time when our health and social care services are facing significant pressures. It is therefore more important than ever that we make the best use of the resources available to us. Right Care, Right Person is about ensuring that people receive the right support from the right service at the right time, while helping specialist services focus on those who need their expertise most urgently.

"However, it is important to emphasise that this does not diminish or remove the role of the PSNI in emergency situations where urgent action is required to protect life or prevent serious harm.

"This is our Health and Social Care system, and we all have a role to play in using services appropriately so that help is available for those who need it most. My Department will continue to work closely with Health and Social Care organisations, the PSNI, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and community and voluntary sector partners to strengthen pathways of care, improve collaboration, and, through multi-agency oversight mechanisms, support the safe and effective implementation of Right Care, Right Person."