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Get in touchSerenity Integrated Mentoring (SIM)
Note: Serenity Integrated Mentoring (SIM) has not operated in south London since May 2021. In 2023, NHS England issued a position statement making clear that SIM and similar models should not be used.
This page contains historial information about SIM to aid researchers. For further information about the Health Innovation Network’s evaluation reports on SIM please contact us.
Serenity Integrated Mentoring (SIM) is an innovative mental health workforce transformation model that brings together the police and community mental health services, in order to better support “high intensity users” of Section 136 of the Mental Health Act (MHA) and public services.
“SIM works with a small number of people who struggle with lows every day,” says SIM innovator Paul Jennings.
“They often have appalling stories of neglect and rejection. They may even be victims of crime. The police officer and the mental health professional work together to provide intensive support to service users until they establish some behavioural stability. To re-inject some hope.”
In 2018 SIM was selected for national scaling and spread across the AHSN Network. The HIN has been working with the three south London Secondary Mental Health Trusts , The South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust, the Metropolitan Police, London Ambulance Service, A&E, CCG commissioners, and the innovator and Network Director of the High Intensity Network Paul Jennings to implement Serenity Integrated Mentoring (SIM) in south London.
A review of the first 24 months of the SIM London programme found that for those service users that had engaged with the programme, the average number of contacts per month, per service user had decreased since baseline for all metrics. Across the London cohort, there was a total estimated cost saving of £1,452,462. For more information please read the full report below or see the two-page highlights leaflet.
Additional documents related to SIM project (including those requested by external parties under the Freedom of Information Act) can be found on the national AHSN Network website.
Useful Resources
Key achievements
- SIM was launched in 2018 in 4 south London Boroughs: Greenwich, Southwark, Kingston and Richmond initially with Wandsworth and Merton boroughs going live in November 2018
- 52 NHS Mental health practitioners from the 3 south London Mental Health Trusts and 20 Met police officers and 6 patient representatives have completed the SIM training
- For the 9 service users that have been on the programme for more than 6 months, the decrease in the use of mental health bed days has led to an average monthly decrease in costs by 12%, (£93 average per service user per month) and the decrease in use of section S136 have decreased average monthly cost by 40% (£168 average per service user per month)
