Risk assessment and the Care Programme Approach: an independent sector initiative

In the context of public concern about homicides committed by mentally ill people, the assessment and management of risk has become a central feature of national mental health policy and practice. This article reports the increasing profile given to the assessment and management of risk in national guidance on the Care Programme Approach (CPA). It goes on to describe findings from a two‐phase qualitative study to evaluate the integration of risk assessment procedures within the framework of the CPA process and the development of a risk assessment strategy by staff at Redford Lodge Hospital, an independent sector provider of medium secure and forensic rehabilitation psychiatric services.The evaluation demonstrated that Redford Lodge has successfully integrated risk assessment within the CPA process and has developed tools that offer a basis for guiding interventions while the service user is detained in hospital and to inform future strategies for supporting them in the community.