‘Plain’ response to mental health patients in crisis

A SPECIALIST mental health response vehicle — instead of a regular ambulance — is attending patients in crisis, under a new pilot project.

The plain people carrier is staffed by a Yorkshire Ambulance Service paramedic and technician and has been used in Doncaster and parts of Rotherham so far.

It follows an increase in emergency calls related to mental health — across Yorkshire the rise was 17 per cent in the three years to 2021.

Sometimes those in mental health crisis need only verbal support or to be taken to a place of safety — rather than the fully-kitted ambulance.

South Yorkshire Police has been involved in the pilot in Rotherham and Doncaster, which launched in March.

The vehicle is used to transport patients who have been detained under the Mental Health Act, and the initial locations covered in the pilot were chosen partly from data provided by the force.

A report to police commissioner Dr Alan Billings said: “In addition to the mental health response vehicle, Doncaster is also piloting a new approach to de-escalation by enhancing the safe space provision, which could lead to a reduction in Section 136 detentions and certainly a reduction in those admitted to A&E with mental health related issues.”

There is also more effort being made to cut the use of police vehicles as conveyances for mental health patients.