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A Street Triage project, that sees police and mental health services working to ensure people in distress get appropriate care, is being launched today (1/6).
The aim of the Street Triage scheme is to improve the overall experience and access to appropriate care for people experiencing mental ill health who call the police when they are in a crisis state.
Thames Valley Police is working in partnership with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and the scheme is being funded by the Department of Health.
In Aylesbury Vale, there will be two mental health professionals who work alongside police officers between 4pm and 1am, seven days a week. The mental health professionals are there to attend incidents with police officers so they can offer face-to-face advice, make accurate risk assessments and give the right care to the patient.
This project aims to avoid using custody as a place of safety and reduce the amount of time police officers spend on mental health incidents.
It aims to find less restrictive and alternatives to the use of Section 136. S136 is a power available to police where a person found in a public place, suffering from mental ill health who is in immediate need of care or control, may be detained and removed to a place of safety in their own interests or that of others.
The launch of the Aylesbury scheme comes following a successful Street Triage pilot in Oxfordshire. The scheme is ongoing and continuing to make a positive difference to those suffering from mental ill health.
The figures are available for its first year of operation.
Supt Olly Wright, LPA Commander for Aylesbury Vale, said: “I am really pleased that we have Street Triage starting here in Aylesbury Vale, and soon across the rest of Buckinghamshire.
“It’s true that significant amounts of police time have been saved as a result of the scheme in Oxfordshire, and it will be great news to replicate those efficiencies here. However, that’s not primarily what Street Triage is about; by having trained mental health professionals working alongside police officers, we’ll provide a much better service to vulnerable people in need of help, with more effective early assessment and involvement of appropriate support.
“For years, too many people suffering from mental health crisis have found themselves being taken into police custody because there’s been nowhere else for them to go, or the police officers haven’t known what else to do to keep them safe.
“Triage will mean that custody really does became the place of last resort. I’m very grateful for our partners in the NHS who have made this possible.”
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust clinical director of adult services Rob Bale said: “The Street Triage scheme has proved very effective in Oxfordshire and so we are delighted that it will now be implemented in Buckinghamshire.
“The objectives of the scheme are to reduce the number of Section 136s given out and to make sure police and mental health professionals are working together to ensure better awareness and experience.
“It is an excellent example of effective partnership working between police and the NHS that means more people are getting appropriate mental health support at the earliest opportunity. I look forward to seeing its success extended to Buckinghamshire and elsewhere.”
