Government considering adding mental health option when people ring 111
William Hewett
The Government is looking at potentially adding a mental health option for when people call 111 as they look to ease the workload on police.
A proposal has been put forward for police to reduce the number of mental health callouts they attend. In the 2022-23 year, police attended more than 77,000 events involving mental health but only 2 to 4 percent resulted in a criminal offence.
Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey told AM on Tuesday morning work is underway to establish new teams to work alongside police.
"Quite often when people call 111 with a physical health crisis, they get a health response, but currently in New Zealand when you call 111 with a mental health crisis, you get a criminal justice response," he told AM co-host Melissa Chan-Green.
"So I think it's quite right the officials are looking at how we can look at what's called a co-response mental health team service. That's about pairing up mental health professionals with police to go out in that time of need."
He also believes it's time for a more streamlined response involving other agencies, not just police.
"I think what we need to do is to triage those calls better in the emergency dispatch centres," he said.
"Think about when there's a risk to the person or the family or people around them. Quite rightly, the police would go out but there are other times when there's mental distress that potentially mental health professionals can be paired up with our police officers or potentially just mental health professionals sent out on their own and I think that's the work we need to look at."
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says the Government is looking to decrease police workload by reducing the number of mental health callouts they respond to.
Doocey told AM he's also getting advice on potentially adding a mental health option alongside fire, ambulance and police when people call 111.
"We will understand the issues of the call out, the risks and the potential team that needs to be sent out," he said.
"Clearly, we need to look at is the service coming out appropriate to the level of risk, whether that will be police and mental health professionals as well."
But while there might be plans to add a mental health team, people have questioned where the worker would come from given the demand for mental health workers is already incredibly stretched.
Doocey admitted on AM the biggest barrier to timely mental health and addiction support in New Zealand is currently down to the mental health workforce "crisis".
The Mental Health Minister said he's requested that Health NZ, the police and the Ministry of Health look at a five-year rollout of a mental health co-response team programme and would be receiving a report on this proposal in March.
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This just shows how the new Minister of mental health doesn't have a clue and is proposing a system that will free up police "because very few call outs result in a conviction".
Honestly do not know where to start. Also dunno if I can do this lunacy justice while away from home and my PC.
First of all, the reason Police have to respond to so many call outs, is because of the safety protocols which recognize that mental health staff (often two women) are not equipped to deal with alone, that's why the cops are the safety net.
Second of all, the reasons Police mental health call outs do not lead to convictions is that the clients are not charged for violence (because that would be inappropriate since we are talking about a group that is not responsible for their actions).
So as you can see, this idiot Ministers reasoning is fundamentaly flawed - conviction rates have nothing to do with the level of risk he is proposing by cutting back Police support.
The risk is not only to the Mental health staff, the risk is equally high, or even higher for the client. Mental health staff cannot restrain people trying to cut or kill themselves.
Mental health staff can't enter without permission.....think about the ministers plan...yeah it's a bloody joke, psyche staff will be on the doorstep, or in the driveway and unable to do jack shit till the cops arrive.
It has taken decades for mental health staff and Police to develop their excellent culture of working together, in the past some cops were very reluctant to help out.
There are many other reasons this is a very bad idea, including other civilized countries going in the opposite direction, having psyche trained staff permanently supporting Police call outs.
Bottom line, in the real world there are some really dangerous housing complexs and streets in Auckland, peopled by very bad men....and more often nowadays women.
There are places two women shouldn't go to alone at night, or even in the day, fk me this the time of the Meth plague.
The Minister has no idea of why the cops get called in to support psyche staff, they are not there to arres people unless they have to purely to transport safely in most cases.
The dumbest scenario in all of this....is imagine driving with someone unwell in the back seat....do ya'lll wanna drive your kids beside that vehicle when it smashes into you?
Me either.
This GOVT just keeps looking for ways to take from mental health to deliver their tough on crime bullshit.
Never fear though, this will never work.
Psyche staff will just refuse to attend shadey call outs without cops and will park up - call the cops - and wait.
And that will be because their own safety protocols do not allow them to respond unsupported to any of the current reasons the Minister is trying to spare Police from.
It is a bit insulting to Mental health staff that the Minister assumes that they are some how relying on Police in 'unnecessary' situations.
Anyway I could go on for hours about how bad this idea is....but what may happen....is that people's lives are lost....I suspect this lot will still say it is working well....till an inquiry changes everything back to the safest system we have.
