Summary
NEST was created to address a long standing barrier in emergency service mental health care: the difficulty of finding therapists who understand policing and other emergency responder roles.
Funded by The Royal Foundation, the project aimed to establish a specialist national network of therapists with proven experience of working with emergency service personnel. This evaluation reviews the development, testing and early delivery of the service. It shows that NEST successfully created a well managed pool of suitable therapists, improved Police Care UK’s ability to match beneficiaries with specialist support, achieved high levels of beneficiary confidence and generated significant cost savings compared to previous models. Further work is required to develop CPD and expand access for external organisations.
Why is this important?
Evidence from research and service feedback showed that many officers struggled to connect with therapists who lacked understanding of trauma exposure, shift patterns, culture and organisational pressures in emergency services. This reduced engagement and therapy outcomes.
NEST was designed to fill this gap by building a network of therapists with specialist experience, improving access to high-quality trauma-informed therapy and strengthening long-term sustainability through better value for money.
Focus of evaluation
- Assess whether NEST successfully established a suitable and well managed therapist network
- Measure the use of the network by Police Care UK and test feasibility with other organisations
- Examine therapist expertise and CPD provision
- Understand the difference NEST made to beneficiary outcomes
- Analyse whether the model reduced therapy costs and increased sustainability
Background
Previous research and service data highlighted that beneficiaries often struggled with therapists who lacked knowledge of emergency service work. Officers reported difficulty opening up, feeling misunderstood or disengaging from therapy early.
NEST aimed to address this by creating the UK’s first dedicated emergency service therapist network, jointly shaped with The Fire Fighters Charity, The Ambulance Staff Charity and partners including BACP and the National Police Wellbeing Service.
How research is/was conducted
- Review of all project phases from scoping to implementation
- Analysis of therapist applications, approvals and recruitment process data
- Feedback from therapists, beneficiaries and steering group partners
- Matching data and service delivery records
- Cost comparison between NEST and previous third party provider model
Partners and funding
- Funded by The Royal Foundation with strategic input from The Fire Fighters Charity, The Ambulance Staff Charity, BACP and the National Police Wellbeing Service.
Timeline
- 2022: Scoping and planning
- 2023: Set-up, recruitment systems, microsite development
- Nov 2023: NEST launched publicly
- 2024–2025: Recruitment, testing and beneficiary matching
- June 2025: Pilot evaluation completed
Results
- NEST received over 340 applications between October 2023 and June 2025, with 93 therapists added to the network.
- Recruitment processes were strengthened over time, reducing onboarding from 77 days to 36 days.
- Most applications were declined due to lack of emergency-responder experience, maintaining high standards.
- Therapists rated their recruitment experience positively and valued the opportunity to specialise in emergency-service therapy.
- Between December 2024 and June 2025, Police Care UK conducted 193 database searches with a 92% successful match rate.
- Dual-trained trauma therapists were particularly valuable for complex cases.
Improved confidence and therapy outcomes for beneficiaries
Feedback from 33 completed therapy journeys showed high levels of confidence, satisfaction and clinical improvement.
- 100% would recommend the service
- 100% felt confident in their therapist
- 92% said their therapist understood policing
- PHQ, GAD and ITQ scores showed positive reductions
- Therapy required an average of 10.12 sessions, fewer than the third-party provider model.
