The vast majority of people who experience mental health problems will be able to receive appropriate treatment for their needs within local community services. Some people however, have such serious or complex needs that these will best be met by specialised mental health services.
Secure services form part of comprehensive forensic/secure psychiatric services and are part of the care pathway for mentally disordered offenders and others who require care under conditions of security.
An effective secure service aims to balance recovery within the constraints of risk and public safety which focuses on the concepts of risk reduction, recovery and rehabilitation.
The key functions of secure services are the assessment and treatment of patients' mental disorder and management of the risk that the patient exhibits to themselves and others.
Secure services encompass a large range of sub specialties including mental illness, learning disabilities, personality disorders, services for women etc. Secure services provision includes a comprehensive range of both inpatient services and services provided in the community.
