Mental health assessment scheme coming to Black Country
An emergency response scheme offering on-the-spot assessments for people suspected of being mentally unwell is being rolled out across the West Midlands after a successful pilot.
Since January, a 'Mental Health Triage' has seen West Midlands Police officers crewed with psychiatric nurses and paramedics to answer calls in Birmingham and Solihull involving people believed to be suffering mental ill health.
The trial has meant medical experts, rather than police officers, have been on hand to carry out assessments on individuals at the scene.
Plans to introduce the initiative across the Black Country are at an advanced stage.
The triage team has dealt with almost 2,000 people since the start of the year with only 227 being detained under the Mental Health ? down from 504 in the first nine months of 2013.
Chief Inspector Sean Russell, who's overseen the trial, said: "Around 20 per cent of police demand is due to mental health issues.
"In the past we've not worked alongside agencies like the ambulance service and mental health providers.
"It has meant too many people ending up in police custody and essentially being criminalised for being unwell.
"It's also meant many hours of police time have been wasted.
"This scheme is a cultural shift; we share more information and work closely together.
"It's led to marked improvements in the treatment given to members of the public who need our help, a significant cut in the use of police stations as places of safety to almost zero, and a reduction in demand on the police and the healthcare system.
"I'm confident the triage scheme will prove as successful in Coventry and the Black Country as it's been in Birmingham and Solihull."
West Midlands Police & Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, added: "I am keen to see the continuation of this work which was highly supported by my predecessor the late Bob Jones. These Mental Health Triage schemes are proving to be beneficial in enhancing the long term safety of the public in a cost effective way."