Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust has launched a new county-wide service that will provide assessments, advice and support to individuals residing in the community who have a mental illness and who are at risk of offending behaviour.

The aim of the Community Forensic Service is to provide help to such individuals at an early stage so as to reduce the likelihood of them offending.

The new team will work across the county in co-operation with existing Community Mental Health Teams, Prison In-Reach, Psychological Therapy Services, Social Services, Substance Misuse Services and the Probation Service. Team members will liaise closely with the Courts and the Police.

This will help to improve the way in which organisations work with one another to provide care that will enable service users to recover and regain their independence.

A wide range of mental health issues will be addressed and the team will help service users to understand how their mental disorder impacts on their behaviour and choices.

The team will be using a number of different techniques, including medication, psychological therapies (such as behaviour therapy, enhanced thinking skills and problem solving) and occupational therapy. Carers and families will also receive support.

As a separate task, the service will provide a court diversion scheme in which individuals with a psychiatric disorder who are better managed by psychiatric services will be moved out of, or supported within, the criminal justice system.

Joanne Taylor, Team Leader, said: “This is a very exciting development for Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust and provides a much needed countywide service to add to the Trust’s already very successful forensic mental health services.

“When the team reaches its full complement of staff there will be a consultant forensic psychiatrist, a team coordinator, three nurses, a psychologist, a social worker, an occupational therapist and secretarial support.”

The Community Forensic Service will be based in Lincoln, but team members will be peripatetic and have satellite bases in Grantham and Boston to ensure accessibility.