Britain’s largest police force has announced it will stop responding to emergency calls related to mental health incidents.
The Metropolitan Police will only respond to calls related to mental health where there is an “imminent threat to life”.
The measure will be introduced from September with the aim of freeing up executive resources.
The BBC understands that the Metropolitan Secretary, Sir Mark Rowley, sent a letter to the Health and Social Services last week.
Police across the UK have seen a significant increase in the number of mental health cases handled in the last five years.
Some police chiefs attributed the increase to the fact that the police are beginning to be seen as a first line of refuge for people in crisis and a lack of capacity in communities to meet the growing demand for mental health. I think it’s about being there.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it aimed to “correct the imbalance of responsibilities” in which police officers often “fail to meet their health responsibilities.”
The National Police Academy defines a mental health incident as “a police incident in which the person’s vulnerability is central to the incident and which is considered to be related to the person’s mental health.” And it’s estimated that a police officer spends 20-40% of his time responding to such incidents.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new plan has already been adopted by the Humberside Police Department, which will provide adequate care, appropriate medical care, and support services in 2020 to ensure that mental health calls are addressed by mental health professionals. Introduced the Respected Person (RCRP) system.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said the RCRP program “improves outcomes, reduces demand for all services and, most importantly, ensures that the right care is provided by the right people.” It’s been a huge success,” he said.
“Police are compassionate and highly skilled, but they are not trained to provide mental health care and spend an average of 10 hours with patients when imposed under the Mental Health Act.
“In London alone, between 500 and 600 times a month, the police are waiting this long to hand over patients and this cannot continue,” they added.
The BBC spoke to police and medical leaders about the pressure on mental health services and the amount of time frontline police are spending caring for patients in crisis.
One officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “Frontline officers try not to use the powers we have because when we have to respond to 999 calls, we are on the road. Because they will be taken outside,” he explained.
The officer said he could be detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act, which gives officers the power to “transfer to a safe place.”
However, a problem arises because “if there is no one at the hospital who can freely perform the test, we cannot leave it unattended.”
In January the government announced a £150m capital investment to improve places and spaces across the NHS for people experiencing or at risk of experiencing a mental health crisis.
The funding will enable the procurement of up to 90 new mental health ambulances, with specialist staff taking them directly to patients, providing on-site assistance or transporting them to the best location for care. Stated.
If you have any of the issues described in this article, you can find details of organizations that can help you at the following links. BBC action line.