Guidance

Prevent duty: guidance for healthcare professionals

Updated 3 October 2024

Applies to England and Wales

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance-for-healthcare-professionals/prevent-duty-guidance-for-healthcare-professionals

About Prevent

Prevent is part of the government’s counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST) and aims to reduce the threat to the UK from terrorism by stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

It works to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are offered appropriate interventions, and communities are protected against radicalising influences.

Prevent duty for healthcare professionals

As a healthcare professional, you have a key role in Prevent because frontline workers often meet and treat people who may be susceptible to radicalisation.

Everyone working in healthcare settings - in the NHS or on behalf of the NHS - therefore has a duty to ensure that they understand Prevent and know what to do if someone they have had contact with is at risk.

This is part of the requirements of NHS statutory duties for safeguarding under the Prevent duty (as set out in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015), and will help to protect those at risk of radicalisation, and in turn the general public.

You can find out more about the Prevent duty in England and Wales by reading the Prevent duty guidance for England and Wales.

See also Prevent duty: core standards for healthcare commissioners and providers, which provides practical information to support commissioners and providers of NHS healthcare in their work to protect people who are vulnerable and/or susceptible to radicalisation.

Prevent duty training

Under the UK Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF), all staff working in health and social care settings across the UK must complete training on preventing radicalisation.

In England, all staff working in health and social care settings must complete the following training every 3 years:

  • Preventing radicalisation - basic Prevent awareness (level 1)
  • Preventing radicalisation - awareness of Prevent (level 3)

This training includes:

You can access training on the e-learning for healthcare website. You can also access this training through the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). You should speak to your organisation’s Prevent lead - often the safeguarding lead or a named GP - about how your organisation completes and records mandatory training.

You can also access supplementary Prevent duty training on GOV.UK.

This training covers:

  • the Prevent duty
  • different extremist ideologies that can lead to terrorism
  • the risk around radicalisation and your supportive role
  • making a Prevent referral that is both informed and made with good intention
  • the interventions and support available, including the Channel process

Radicalisation risk indicators

Those who work in frontline support roles, such as healthcare settings, will often be the first to notice if someone is displaying concerning behaviour.

Though everyone is different, and there is no checklist that can tell us if someone is being radicalised or becoming involved in terrorism, there are common signs to be aware of. Someone may be in the process of becoming radicalised if they are:

  • justifying the use of violence to solve societal issues
  • altering their style of dress or appearance to accord with an extremist group
  • unwilling to engage with people who they see as different
  • using certain symbols associated with terrorist organisations 

Radicalisation by extremist groups or individuals can be perpetrated in many ways. However, radicalisers are increasingly exploiting online opportunities to target and influence the most vulnerable people.

Someone may be in the process of becoming radicalised online if they are:

  • viewing or accessing extremist content online
  • sharing or posting extremist content online
  • agreeing with posts inciting violence, glorifying terrorism, or dehumanising groups
  • encouraging others to access extremist content online

As a healthcare professional you have a responsibility to safeguard children and adults at risk of abuse or neglect in the NHS, and should therefore note that a person’s susceptibility to radicalisation may be linked to their vulnerability. A person can be vulnerable if they need care, support or protection because of age, disability, risk of abuse or neglect. A person’s vulnerabilities may be relevant to their susceptibility to radicalisation and to the early intervention approach that is required to divert them away from radicalisation.

Raising a concern: first steps

It is a key NHS safeguarding requirement for staff to know who to contact and where to seek advice if they have concerns about an individual who may be being radicalised into terrorist activity, and to be able to raise concerns and act when they arise.

If you are worried that someone you know or have had contact with is being radicalised, you should firstly:

  • visit the Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) Early website - this has helpful information about spotting the signs of radicalisation and real stories of radicalisation to compare against
  • undertake or re-visit the Prevent training linked above 
  • speak to your organisation’s Prevent lead - often the safeguarding lead or a named GP - to discuss your concerns

The earlier you ask for advice, the sooner you can help to stop people becoming a danger to themselves or others.

Information-sharing is critical and having confidence in sharing information is crucial to safeguarding the person from being radicalised and exploited, and to protect other citizens from harm.  

After talking to someone about your worries, you may be asked to help create a referral to the Prevent programme.

Progressing a concern: making a referral

Learn more about how to make a Prevent referral by completing Course 2: Referrals of the Prevent duty training on GOV.UK (see above - you’ll need to complete Course 1: Awareness first), or by reading section 4 of Prevent and the Channel process in the NHS: information sharing and governance.

If you are still concerned after following the first steps, you should speak to your organisation’s Prevent lead about progressing your concerns. The Prevent lead in your organisation can then guide you regarding the next steps to take.

In the NHS in England and Wales, the Prevent duty sits within safeguarding. Under this duty and through these processes, you have a duty to provide timely and proportionate information to relevant partners to support the initiation of a safeguarding process to protect the person concerned, or others, from harm. 

When gathering and sharing information, you must be aware that all information-sharing for Prevent and Channel purposes must comply with the relevant legislation (Data Protection 2018 (DPA 2018) and Human Rights Act 1998) and should be managed with the same priority as any other safeguarding concern. You can find detailed guidance about how to share information in section 4 of ‘Prevent and the Channel process in the NHS: information sharing and governance’.

Your organisation should have formal arrangements in place so that relevant and timely information can be shared with partners, for example local authorities or police, where necessary. You should speak to your Prevent lead to understand and act within these arrangements.

You may be asked to complete, or help to complete, a Prevent referral to the police using the National Prevent Referral Form to raise and share your concerns - you should speak to your Prevent lead to obtain your local area’s version of this form. Safeguarding referrals to prevent radicalisation can be made using local multi-agency partnership guidance and procedures.

It is far better to raise a referral that turns out not to be of concern than to miss an individual who genuinely needs support and who may then go on to commit or support a violent act of terrorism.

If you wish to discuss your concerns in confidence, or require further advice, you should call the national police Prevent advice line for advice and support on 0800 011 3764. 

In an emergency you should always call 999. 

In summary: notice, check, share

Notice

If you notice behaviours in a person that cause you concern, consider whether the person is susceptible to radicalisation. There could be many different reasons for these behaviours, not just radicalisation. It’s important to understand the context before jumping to any conclusions.

Check

Discuss your concern with the person responsible for safeguarding within your organisation, such as the Prevent lead. Checking before sharing a concern is a way of making sure you have gathered as much relevant information as possible before making a referral. When gathering and sharing information, ensure you comply with data protection laws and always follow your organisation’s arrangements.

Share

Once you have gathered the relevant information, make a referral to the police using the National Prevent Referral Form - you should speak to your Prevent lead to obtain your local area’s version of this form.

In some cases, you may do this referral directly yourself. In other cases, the organisational Prevent lead or equivalent, or the local authority, may do this on your behalf.

Early intervention: the Channel programme

In England and Wales, if an individual is assessed to be susceptible to radicalisation, they may be offered support through the Channel programme. Channel is a voluntary process of engagement and is about safeguarding children and adults from supporting or engaging in terrorist-related activity. It is about early intervention to protect and divert people away from the risk they face before illegality occurs.

You may be asked to join a panel meeting if you have been involved in the Prevent referral of a person or have a connection with the person.

Channel panels operate in all local authority areas in England and Wales and address all types of radicalisation concerns, including extreme right-wing and Islamist-related extremism. Support could include assistance with education or employment, health support or ideological mentoring to provide individuals with the skills to protect themselves from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

A person’s vulnerabilities may be relevant to their susceptibility to radicalisation and to the early intervention approach that is required to divert them away from radicalisation.

The support provided by the Channel programme may include:

  • mentoring
  • mental health support such as counselling
  • education or career development support
  • online safety training for parents 

Learn more about Channel panels by completing Course 3: Channel or Prevent Multi-Agency Panel (PMAP) from the Prevent duty training on GOV.UK, or by reading Channel and Prevent Multi-Agency Panel (PMAP) guidance.

Further resources

This 3-minute video sets out the key role healthcare professionals play in the delivery of Prevent.

Prevent duty in healthcare video

There are further Prevent resources that you can tailor to your own trust, hospital or organisation. If you would like to access these resources, please speak to your local Prevent lead.

If you need local support or advice about the Prevent duty, your local NHS England team will be able to support you. Please make contact with your relevant team:

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