Nurses Call For Immediate Halt To Police Withdrawal

Police withdrawal from mental health call outs should be stopped until Te Whatu Ora makes critical resources available, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says.

Phase Two of the changes come into effect on Monday (14 April) but police have delayed the starting date in all but five districts, saying other areas are not ready. The new phased roll out is the second time police have rescheduled the changes.

NZNO Mental Health College chair Helen Garrick says the health sector is not ready for the police withdrawal either.

"This is a matter of safety for everyone, including the people who need mental health support, their whānau and the mental health workforce."

The first phase of the changes officially came into effect last November, but Helen Garrick says NZNO mental health nurses report the police withdrawal actually started long before that.

NZNO agrees with the Mental Health Foundation there is no adequate plan to support the transition away from police attending mental health call outs, she says.

"The police withdrawal should be stopped until the following resources and agreements are in place:

• Resourcing for new crisis hubs to be staffed by a qualified mental health workforce 24/7.
• Purpose built safe spaces attached to hospitals or community centres, staffed 24/7 and suitable for people experiencing mental distress, and their whānau, to wait for mental health assessment. Emergency Department waiting rooms are completely unsuitable.
• Resourcing for nationwide co-response teams - consisting of a minimum of a mental health nurse and police officer - to transport people under the Mental Health Act.
• Increased staff for mental health crisis teams and a commitment to workforce development and filling current vacancies, without the creation of an associate psychologist qualification.
• Leaving decisions about mental health risk and the need for police assistance in the hands of mental health staff, not police communications."

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