Press Release supporting New Deal for people facing a mental Health Crisis

Mike Hedges welcomes New deal to help people facing a mental health crisis

A new agreement to improve the system of care and support for people in a mental health crisis has been signed by the Welsh Labour Government, police forces, the NHS, councils and other agencies.

Mike said…..  I welcome the news that the Welsh Government are offering further support to people facing a Mental Health Crisis. Police Custody is not the place for people with mental health problems and this new concordat will mean that it will be the place of last resort for securing the person; appropriate Mental Health support will be available, especially in the case of under 18.

The crisis care concordat commits the organisations which have signed up to work together to intervene early and, if possible, to reduce the likelihood of people posing a risk to themselves or others as a result of a mental health condition. A key part of this approach are new proposals to reduce the use of police custody for people suffering with mental health problems. People with suspected mental health issues who are detained under the Mental Health Act should be assessed within three hours and not be held in police custody for more than 12 hours.

All organisations which sign the concordat have made a commitment to find the most appropriate support needed for people in whatever situation and whichever service a person turns to, making sure that any intervention is carried out without any unnecessary or inappropriate placement; for example within police custody.

Other commitments include:

• People under 18 who      experience a mental health crisis should never be held in police custody      unless in exceptional circumstances
• Police vehicles will      rarely be used to convey people in crisis except the most violent of      individuals and only in exceptional cases to transport people between NHS      facilities
• NHS transport or      other health vehicles, but not necessarily an ambulance, should be      commissioned to take people in a mental health crisis to hospital
• If a young person      under 18 is detained under section 135 or 136 of the Mental Health Act and      taken to a police station for assessment, a case review will be held      within seven days to determine whether this could have been avoided in      order to learn from that incident
• Monitoring groups      within health boards will review every section 135 and 136 detention      within police custody to determine its appropriateness.