Close collaboration between Police Scotland and NHS Lanarkshire is helping improve service delivery for patients while reducing the need for officer attendances at emergency departments, in a move showing the benefits of a joined up mental health care approach.
The partnership between the two organisations has enabled psychiatric liaison nurses to perform 24/7 triage, which has seen police attendances at A&Es cut by more than 80%.
Last year, the community triage service was used nearly 2,000 times, allowing patients to take advantage of telehealth and get an appointment for a mental health assessment in the comfort of their own home within an hour.
Susie Cochrane, NHS Lanarkshire’s service manager for mental health and learning disabilities, said: “The investment in this approach is delivering better care for patients and reducing demand on emergency departments. We are grateful to Police Scotland for their partnership.”
Police Scotland chief constable Jo Farrell has said that the police should not get involved in mental health incidents – instead, a mental health taskforce has been established to help the police better balance their involvement.
Matt Paden, chief superintendent, leads that taskforce and has commended Lanarkshire’s collaboration as an example of how better outcomes and greater efficiency can be achieved. “There are examples of strong local relationships across Scotland and the work in Lanarkshire underlines what can be achieved through collaboration,” he said.
“One size doesn’t fit all, however many of the principles demonstrated by this work could be taken forward in other areas and we are providing guidance and support for colleagues to help them to further develop local arrangements.”
He added that this includes the roll-out of the mental health index being made available to officers on their phones, which will further support collaborative working between the police and health boards.
Martyn Evans, chair at the Scottish Police Authority, commented: "The approach in Lanarkshire highlights how effective collaboration between the police and NHS can lead to better outcomes for everyone. I hope the principles can continue to grow and be embedded in other areas."
Scottish justice secretary, Angela Constance, added: “This is a good example of how police officers and mental health professionals can work together to ensure people suffering from mental ill health get the right help in the right place at the right time.”
Image credit: iStock