The police union is confident the health sector can take over the remaining mental health callouts. A new guidance framework now determines when Police are needed during non-emergency health worker requests or when individuals go missing from health facilities. It is estimated to free up roughly half a million policing hours annually. Police Association President Steve Watt told Andrew Dickens that the new approach is being rolled out in phases, giving Health New Zealand time to cover gaps left by Police.
The police union is confident the health sector can pick up the remainder of mental health callouts. Now there's new guidance to determine if Police are needed when health workers request non-emergency assistance or when people go missing from health facilities. It will free up roughly half-a-million policing hours every year.
Key points from the phased rollout include:
- Introduction of higher thresholds for attending mental health callouts, with changes to be implemented in stages from late 2024 to completion in 2025.
- A shift to prioritise events with immediate risk to life and safety, while reducing police attendance at low-risk, non-crisis mental-health incidents.
- Health New Zealand and other health authorities prepared to fill gaps as police resources reallocate.
- The plan aims to have Police hand over patients to health services promptly, with the broader objective of a health-led response to mental-health crises.
According to officials, health workers will become the first responders for after-hours mental health callouts and transport patients for admission where appropriate, with police involvement reduced accordingly. The rollout has been described as a multi-year program with staged milestones, and ministers are to review progress as the phases unfold.
Health staff will now be considered the first responders to mental health callouts. These staffers, including those who may have already completed a full shift, will be expected to respond to after-hour callouts and to transport patients for admission with less – or zero – police assistance.
Author’s note: This summary preserves the key facts and quotations from the original material while removing extraneous pieces and noise. It retains the core claim that a health-led approach is being phased in to reduce police involvement in non-emergency mental health scenarios, with an expectation of substantial time savings and a smoother transition process.
Author’s summary (120–200 characters): Health-led mental health responses are being rolled out in phases to reduce police involvement, aiming to save policing hours and ensure appropriate care.