Nurses to aid police in addressing mental health emergencies

A new scheme that will see nurses dispatched alongside police officers attending to mental health emergencies has been announced by the government.

Funded by the Department of Health and backed by the Home Office, the street triage scheme will be introduced in four pilot sites – North Yorkshire, Devon and Cornwall, Sussex and Derbyshire – and launches this summer.

Trained mental health nurses will accompany officers to incidents where police believe people need immediate mental health support, thus ensuring they receive the care they need, while also reducing pressures on police time.

Street triage services trialled in Cleveland and Leicestershire have already indicated that nurses and police can work together to achieve better results.

Care and support minister Norman Lamb said: "We are launching these pilots to make sure that people with mental health issues get the right care, at the right time and in the right place."

This comes as part of wider efforts by the government to ensure that mental health issues in the UK are treated with the same level of importance as physical wellbeing.