Mental Health Awareness Week: putting the right help in the right place 

At some point in our lives, most of us will either experience mental ill health ourselves or support someone close to us who does. The mental health charity Mind estimates that one in four people will experience a mental health problem in any given year, making it clear how important it is that the right help is available when people reach crisis point. 

The police are not always the right agency to respond to every incident, most of the time health professionals are far better placed to help. Recognising that – and building services around it – is essential to protecting people at their most vulnerable. 

There are times when an emergency service response is necessary.  That is why I am a co‑commissioner, alongside the NHS and the Fire service, of the Integrated Access Partnership (IAP). This model brings together mental health services, ambulance services and out‑of‑hours primary care to ensure that when emergency services are contacted, people receive the most appropriate and timely response to their mental health needs. 

The IAP is delivered through a multidisciplinary team within Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership, working alongside South Western Ambulance Service and BrisDoc. 

What this looks like in practice: 

• The Mental Health Specialist Desk, where mental health nurses review and triage 999 calls involving mental health needs, supporting decisions about the most appropriate response. 

• Mental Health Response Vehicles, providing blue light responses directly to people in mental health crisis, led by specialist clinicians. 

• The Emergency Services Professionals Line, giving police, fire and ambulance staff immediate access to expert clinical advice while responding to incidents. 

A particularly important development has been the deployment of the Mental Health Response Vehicles. More people who trigger emergency call outs are now being supported and treated at the scene rather than taken to hospital. This reduces distress for individuals and relieves pressure elsewhere in the system. 

The Mental Health Specialist Desk has also been crucial in reducing unnecessary police attendance at mental health related incidents. This has been strengthened by a dedicated police Link Officer role, based within the South Western Ambulance call centre. 

Officers in this role work alongside clinicians on a 24/7 rota, supporting the triage of calls. Where the link officer is in place, police deployments to mental health incidents have reduced by 20 to 30 per cent. 

The IAP has calculated that for every £1 invested in this role, £3 is saved – a clear example of how doing the right thing for people also delivers better value for public money. 

This approach means that, where appropriate, police officers and ambulances can be stood down and replaced by specialist support better suited to the situation. We avoid unnecessary trips to emergency departments, deploy clinicians directly to people in crisis, and free up emergency services to respond where there is an immediate risk of harm. 

Police will always attend when there is a real and immediate threat to life. But protecting people also means getting them the right support, at the right time.