Evaluation published in 2020
S12 Solutions is a mobile application and website created to make Mental Health Act (MHA) assessment setup and claim form processes quicker, simpler and more secure. To understand the impact of the S12 Solutions platform locally, Wessex AHSN have undertaken an independent evaluation on behalf of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (HIOW STP).
Background:
Before a person can be lawfully held under the MHA, an assessing team comprising an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) and two doctors (a registered medical practitioner and a section 12 approved doctor) must agree that detaining the person in hospital is the best way to provide their care.
The S12 Solutions concept was conceived by Amy Manning, an experienced AMHP working in Bath. Amy found the process for organising MHA assessing teams to be highly inefficient, with many frustrated AMHPs spending hours, and sometimes entire shifts, working from outdated paper lists trying to find suitable doctors to attend an assessment.
The S12 Solutions platform:
With first-hand knowledge of the current system challenges, and the impact these have on service users, practitioners and agencies, Amy developed S12 Solutions with support from fellow AMHPs, doctors, commissioners, executives and administrators. The platform:
• Enables doctors to share their availability, location and specialisms.
• Enables AMHPs to search a directory of s.12 approved doctors, verified against the Mental Health Act Register Database, based on the doctor’s availability, location and specialisms.
• Offers the option for the AMHP to phone or use a messaging service within the app to arrange the assessment.
• Can be used to create, complete and submit claim forms for the doctors (the electronic signatures have the same legal standing as a wet-ink signature).
• Provides data capture and reporting about the MHA assessment process, helping professionals to make evidence-based improvements to their services.
Resources
You will find the following documents in the Resources section on this page:
