Mental Health Street Triage Program Launches in UK

A project to ensure patients experiencing a mental health crisis have rapid access to care has been created in Bedfordshire.

The Mental Health Street Triage is a partnership between the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), Bedfordshire Police, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group and Luton Clinical Commissioning Group.

The pilot will see a team consisting of a paramedic, police officer and mental health professional in one car respond to mental health calls 365 days a year.

The team will attend incidents where there is an immediate threat to life—someone threatening to self-harm—or where a third party has called the police or ambulance and expressed concern for someone.
 
The team has a dedicated phone and can be referred to incidents by police and ambulance control rooms.“We come into contact with people suffering a mental health crisis on a near-daily basis," says Area Clinical Lead Duncan Moore from the East of England Ambulance Trust. “We are committed to developing the understanding and awareness of various mental health conditions, so that we can help people with diverse needs living in our communities. By doing this with other agencies in a coherent and meaningful way, and providing the relevant support together, we will help make a difference, and I‘d like to thank everyone involved in setting this up.”

“We are committed to developing our understanding of mental health conditions, so we are able to serve and protect people with diverse needs," says Bedfordshire Police lead for mental health awareness Chief Inspector Jaki Whittred.