Doctors asked to 'protect people from radicalisation'

'Prevent' strategy believes guidelines are needed for all healthcare managers and workers to ensure radicalisation cases are given attention and care

Prevent, the counter-terrorism strategy,  has stated there are many opportunities for doctors, nurses and other staff to help protect people from radicalisation.

The key challenge is to ensure that healthcare workers can identify the signs that someone is vulnerable to radicalisation, interpret those signs correctly and access the relevant support.

The Department of Health (DoH) will need to ensure that the crucial relationship of trust and confidence between patient and clinician is balanced with the clinicians professional duty of care and their responsibility to protect wider public safety.

Where a healthcare worker encounters someone who may be in the process of being radicalised towards terrorism, it is critical that the individual is offered the appropriate support.

The Strategy believes that clear guidelines are needed for all healthcare managers and healthcare workers to ensure that cases of radicalisation, whether among staff or patients, are given the attention and care they deserve.

Over the next year, the DoH will aim to deliver Prevent through those local organisations who manage mental health and offender health, prior to covering wider health communities such as primary care and hospitals. It is key that these organisations address Prevent through organisational governance and policies.

Over the life-time of this strategy the DoH will develop knowledge and carry out awareness raising events for frontline workers in the public, private and voluntary health sectors, strengthen work with partners such as BIS, to ensure that Prevent principles are properly embedded in university hospital trusts and further develop awareness-raising and training products.

Also, raise awareness of the parallels between Prevent and safeguarding guidance and procedures for adults and children to promote gradual mainstreaming of Prevent,  improve guidance of corporate governance policies and procedures to allow referrals and concerns to be raised with confidence and work with regional and local health organisations to expand support to Channel groups and other key partners to ensure that they have access to appropriate advice and support through healthcare interventions.

Further information:
Department of Health

Home Office