Funds announced to better support those in mental health crisis
The Government has announced a £150 million investment to ensure better mental health support for people in crisis, including £7 million for specialised mental health ambulances.
The announcement comes as the draft Mental Health Bill moves to the next stage.
Welcoming the announcement, APCC Mental Health Lead, Lisa Townsend, said: “We welcome this injection of funds to better support those in mental health crisis.
“This is a positive step towards ensuring that those in crisis are receiving the appropriate response and care that is so desperately needed.
“Although there have been significant improvements in recent years, police cells and vehicles are not appropriate places of safety for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis and PCCs have long called for this to be addressed through their input to the Wessely Review in 2018.
“The Mental Health Bill rightly seeks to bring an end to the use of police stations as a place of safety and, importantly, recognises before doing so the need to ensure sufficient capacity is in place within mental health services and local communities.
“The government’s announcement is welcomed, and we hope this will not only provide the right response and care to those in crisis but also reduce the significant demand faced by police forces who are often the public’s final option due to their dedication and 24/7 response.”
The draft Bill will now be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny where a parliament select committee will examine in detail before the final version is published.