FOI 2025/1520

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please provide the following information for the period March 2023 – November 2025, within the geographical area covered by your Integrated Care Board.

Scope:

• Legal status: Individuals detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act
• Place of safety: Cases where an Emergency Department (A&E) was used as the initial/first health-based place of safety
• Population: All individuals, with the information broken down into the following age groups:

Children and young people

Adults

I am not requesting data relating to police stations or dedicated Section 136 suites.

Information requested:

Use of A&E as first place of safety

For each of the age groups listed above, please provide:

1. The number of individuals detained under Section 136 where A&E was recorded as the first place of safety.

Time spent in A&E

Where recorded or monitored by the ICB (including via provider returns, dashboards, or escalation reports), please provide for each age group:

2. The average (mean) length of time individuals detained under Section 136 spent in A&E; and
3. The median length of time spent in A&E.

If exact time measurements are not held, please provide the closest available aggregate measures used locally (for example, time bands, summary indicators, or the 95th percentile where available).

Police presence in A&E

4. Please advise whether the ICB records, monitors, or receives information relating to police presence in A&E for individuals detained under Section 136.

If so, please provide any aggregate information held, broken down by the age groups above, including where available:

1. The number or proportion of cases where police officers remained with the individual in A&E beyond arrival; and
2. Any available information on the frequency or duration of police presence in A&E during Section 136 detentions.

1 – 4. NHS Greater Manchester ICB (NHS GM) does not hold the information requested. Therefore, you may wish to contact the Greater Manchester NHS Trust’s or Greater Manchester Police, who may be able to provide information you seek.

To assist you please find below links to their websites and information about how to make a Freedom of Information request.

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of information – Bolton NHS FT (boltonft.nhs.uk)

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of Information Requests :: Northern Care Alliance

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of Information – Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (mft.nhs.uk)

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of Information – Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust – Freedom of Information Requests :: Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care (tamesideandglossopicft.nhs.uk)

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – WWL Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | FOI Disclosure Log

Greater Manchester Police – Accessing information | Greater Manchester Police