National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care Units


NAPICU is a not for profit multi-disciplinary organisation, which was formally established in 1996 and is also a registered charity -SC048876. NAPICU is committed to developing and promoting the specialty of psychiatric intensive care and low secure services. We are dedicated to improving patient experience and outcome, and to promoting staff support and development.
We promote research, education and practice development using quarterly meetings and annual conferences, our journal, training initiatives and this website and our social media.
Our members are mostly located in the United Kingdom, and become members when working in specific wards or units, which join our association, or as individual mental health professionals from any discipline. We also attract members from outside the UK.


The association holds quarterly meetings, academic seminars and an annual national conference.
The associations' Executive Committee works with key stakeholders at regional and national levels, to shape policy and practice in the area of acute inpatient psychiatry, including psychiatric intensive care and low secure services.

''Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care''

Since 2005 the association has published the Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care.
This peer-reviewed journal is devoted to issues affecting the care and treatment of people with mental disorders who manifest severely disturbed mental or behavioural functioning. The journal is international and multi-disciplinary in its approach. It serves the interest of people concerned with these topics in PICUs, Low Secure Units, Challenging Behaviour, Emergency Psychiatry, Intensive Treatments or other parts of the wider mental health system. The journal seeks to encourage informed debate and exchange of opinion. The content of the journal includes; editorials, original articles, brief reports, reviews, conference reports, news and notices. Preference is given to original research of scientific quality.

NAPICU executive committee

The NAPICU executive committee is multi-disciplinary and includes clinicians, managers, service user representatives and carers. The executive meets four times a year to take forward projects, respond to consultation documents and debate wider policy issues.

History of NAPICU

The creation of NAPICU was driven by the need for standard-setting in Psychiatric Intensive Care Units
and LS services. NAPICU was formally established in 1996 by Dr Dominic Beer, Dr Stephen Pereira
and Carol Paton and began discussion among clinicians regarding standards of care, ethical issues, service
specifications and patient profiles within PICU and LS services.
The disparity between units of that era was highlighted by a survey published in 1997. A
PICU policy, research and development group was established at the North East London Foundation Trust
by Dr Stephen Pereira in 1999. This group conceptualised and initiated a project to develop the National
Minimum Standards in psychiatric intensive care and low secure environments given the absence of such
national standards in the UK. A multidisciplinary group of clinicians in the field of psychiatric intensive care
and low secure care was established and produced clinical standards, which were subsequently adopted by the
Department of Health in 2001.
The National Minimum Standards in psychiatric intensive care units and low
secure environments was launched as a policy implementation guide in 2002. This group also initiated the PICU and low secure practice development network
to help units meet with the national standards. The main aim of the 2002 National Minimum Standards was
to develop standards of psychiatric intensive care and low secure environments with a multidisciplinary and
patient focus. The National Minimum Standards have influenced the successful development of psychiatric
intensive care units and low secure environments in a standardised manner across the UK, whilst allowing
for local creativity and innovation ultimately leading to high quality care for patients who find themselves in
these environments.
After a lengthy process of engagement with all stakeholders these standards have now been revised and
published in 2014 as the National Minimum Standards for Psychiatric Intensive Care in General Adult Services
Updated 2014. Appendix 1 lists the sections contained within the National Minimum Standards of 2014.
NAPICU is also now in the process of undertaking another National Survey of PICU and LS care across the
UK. The intention is that this will be combined with benchmarking tools to enable local services to assess their
own performance against national data.
Since 1996 NAPICU has worked to achieve its aims by promoting: the development of PICU and LS services,
the clinicians working within these services and most importantly by improving the experience of patients
within these services.