May promises mental health reform.
- Abi Hamlin
- May 25, 2015
- 2 min read
If you have listened to my podcast on my previous post (if you haven’t, do it: http://abihamlin.wix.com/abihamlin#!Mental-Health-Cuts-Podcast/cmbz/555c78580cf235f819430a65) you will know about the lack of spaces available for people with mental health problems resulting in some of the most vulnerable people ending up in police cells. But finally a solution?
People with mental health problems will not be held in police cells but an actual place of safety under a £15m plan to be announced by Theresa May.
The proposal will mean thousands of people detained by the Mental Health Act will NO longer be looked after by police officers in prison cells. Instead they will be placed where they can be cared for by medically trained professionals.
The Home Secretary will promise £15m to the NHS to fund suitable alternatives to police custody for those who get detained under the act.
This news comes after a 16 year old girl was held by police for two days in November 2014 because no mental health bed could be made available. (Read more: http://abihamlin.wix.com/abihamlin#!Police-Waste-Time-With-Mental-Health-Patients/cmbz/5509bfc60cf2393ebb2ee957) The girl was eventually placed in the proper care but in Norwich, the other side of the country.
It is estimated that police spend between 20%-40% of their time dealing with people with mental illness.
May will announce the plans when she addresses the annual conference of the Police Federation of England and Wales. This will be her first speech since being reappointed the role following the general election.
It is reported she will say: “Nobody wins when the police are sent to look after people suffering from mental health problems.
"Vulnerable people don't get the care they need and deserve, and the police can't get on with the job they are trained to do."
She will add: "The right place for a person suffering a mental health crisis is a bed, not a police cell. And the right people to look after them are medically trained professionals, not police officers."
Under the new plans the law will be amended so those under 18 will never be taken into police cells, the cells will only be used for adults if their behaviour is so extreme they cannot be dealt with safely.
The current amount of time for a person to be detained to undergo medical assessment will also be reduced from 72 hours.
Further details will be outlined in the Queen’s Speech, which will lay out in detail the Government’s plans for the next five years.
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