Guidance

Prevent duty: guidance for healthcare professionals

Published 21 May 2024

Applies to England and Wales

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

Prevent duty training

As a healthcare professional you should complete Prevent duty training to ensure that you understand your role in Prevent, which includes:

• learning how to recognise signs of radicalisation correctly
• understanding the pathways for available support
• understanding the Channel multi-agency support programme

You can access Prevent duty training on GOV.UK.

The 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

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:

• accessing extremist content online or downloading propaganda material
• 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 

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 Chapter 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.

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, when 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 raise and share your concerns. 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 organisation 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.

Share

Once you have gathered the relevant information, make a referral to the police using either a Prevent referral form or your organisation’s equivalent form. In some cases, you may do this 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.

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 the Channel duty 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.