APCC Mental Health Lead to head up policing element of independent review
Matthew Scott, the APCC Lead on Mental Health and PCC for Kent, said:
“I am pleased to announce that I have been asked to lead the policing element of the next phase of the independent Mental Health Act review being conducted by Professor Sir Simon Wessley and his team. This is a tremendous honour and opportunity to solve some of the real issues that Policing and the wider health service faces. Issues such as crisis calls, mental health assessment delays, disparities for BAME communities, the use of police cells and prisoners access to services will all be up for discussion, as well as police powers.
“My focus will continue to be on making sure that those who experience crisis get the best support from all those with whom they come in to contact, and that we do even more to help vulnerable people get the right support from the right person at the right time. Behind every process is a person, like the young person who threatened to take their own life. No matter what we think of the system, we should always remember the individual.”
This is an extract taken from Matthew Scott’s blog, Mental Health Awareness Week: Reducing the demand on policing which you can read in full here.