£190k saved in the Black Country with new 999 care project
A revolutionary change in the way mental health emergencies are dealt with in the Black Country has saved almost £190,000 in its first six weeks, it was revealed today.
Police, paramedics and psychiatric nurses are working together providing better treatment faster and cutting the number of people who need to be detained under the Mental Health Act.
The scheme – introduced on November 12 – saves vast amounts of time and money for police and ambulance crews who previously had to deal with the dramas alone.
comments_cta header="What do you think?" text="Should a scheme like this be introduced across the country?" button="Log in and start commenting"]
The 15-strong mental health triage team, providing seven-day-a-week cover from their base at Bilston Police Station, dealt with 272 patients between the launch date and January 4, official figures show. They work alongside a mental health expert who can make psychiatric assessments, significantly cutting the number of patients detained under the Mental Health Act – known as a 136 because of the section of the act involved.
Sgt Luke Cole, who was in charge when the team launched, said: "Previously police and ambulance crews responding to emergency calls did not have the skill to make a psychiatric assessment. Now all the specialists needed to deal with the issue are on-hand rather than various elements having to waste hours waiting with the individual for the other specialists to become involved."
This allows other solutions to be used such as alerting a GP, counselling, referral to a mental health team and home treatment from a crisis team.
During the first six weeks of operation the scheme stopped 57 people from being unnecessarily detailed by a 136, stopped 134 unnecessary call outs for ambulances and stopped 114 trips to A&E units.
Chief Inspector Sean Russell, who came up with the project, said: "Things have gone fantastically well. The total savings so far has been £187,720."
