workforce
“ So , the police get that job and then hopefully we ’ re there very soon at the address if mental health [ issues ] have been identified . Often they are clients that are known to us , but my last two weeks have been all people that I ’ ve never seen . They have no mental health history ,” Paula says .
“ It ’ s very traumatic for people if they ’ re having a mental health crisis and they have two , four , six police officers , an ambulance . And when they see a mental health nurse and we are able to identify ourselves and what our role is and use de-escalation skills , you obviously build a little bit of rapport and often find that the person doesn ’ t need the police .
“ They don ’ t need to come into an emergency department . They need someone to listen to them there and then , and they can be referred to a community team and be followed up in the community in their home rather than the traumatic event of being taken by police or ambulance to an emergency department where they may have to wait for many hours .”
The nurses can also act as a liaison between the police , community health or emergency departments , smoothing the way for successful and safe transitions for the consumer .
“[ Sometimes ] we contact the emergency department and say that the police have already Section 22 ’ d this person , or the ambulance services Section 20 ’ d them , and they ’ re coming in , regardless of our involvement . We just kind of smooth that pathway to make it more of a seamless transition between the community and the hospital . We do a pre-arrival notification , basically , to ED mental health and our afterhours nurse manager ,” Sam tells me .
“ One of the jobs we did the first week we were on board was where we had been called out to a man in his forties . I think he was one of the consumers of our Community Mental Health . He phoned in a state of distress . So , we attended with the police at the same time . They made sure it was safe for us to go in . And we were in , assessed the situation , had this fellow in the car with us , me driving , rather large police officer in the back with the consumer , and my colleague in the front seat . And we had him up at the hospital , handed over to the ED mental health team and back on station within the hour .
“ So that meant that we didn ’ t have to involve the paramedics . We could get him timely assessment . No waiting for hours on end for an ambulance crew or the indignity of being put into the back of a police
Nurse Paula O ’ Brien . Picture : Supplied
wagon , because that ’ s really not good for anybody ’ s mental wellbeing .”
Paula recalls an incident involving a man who was previously homeless and with a history of drug abuse who got in an altercation with his new neighbours .
“ He apparently was suicidal , and the police were going to take him up to the emergency department . He was terrified of the police . He had a long history of living on the streets . But when they were able to speak to him , it was an altercation with a neighbour . They had a couple of drinks , but not in excess . The story got blown out of proportion ,” she says .
“ He needed a bit of time to talk about what had gone on . And he needed a referral back to his GP . But he would ’ ve been headed for quite a traumatic evening .”
Both Sam and Paula are glad that mental health is being recognised in this way . Both of their police districts have many issues often associated with low socioeconomic areas . Adding to that the strain and aftermath of last summer ’ s bushfire season and then the economy-crushing pandemic , mental health will be more important than ever in the coming year .
Along with the expansion of the PACER program , the NSW government also pledged $ 73 million will be invested into mental health , and part of that package will see 180 mental health workers deployed across the state .
This will also increase capacity for an extra 60,000 calls in the next 12 months to the 1800 NSW Mental Health Line and see the creation of pop-up mental health Safe Space sites to reduce pressure on emergency departments .
Bronnie Taylor , NSW Minister for Mental Health , told Nursing Review that the program is about navigating a pathway to recovery , not incarceration , hopefully saving lives and changing them for the better .
“ The PACER program is about getting the best outcome for a person on potentially their worst day .
“ The PACER program is about getting the best outcome for a person on potentially their worst day .
“ This is a great example of practical collaboration between police , first responders and NSW Health as we work together to find innovative ways to deliver supports to meet the unique needs of individual communities across regional and rural NSW .
“ We have had an overwhelmingly positive response from all parties , and several Police Area Commands have reached out to me to say they want to see it rolled out in their areas too ,” she said .
For Sam , it ’ s about helping the police , the consumers and ultimately the local community .
“[ Police are ] swamped and they need extra support . Mental health is a growing trade basically . It ’ s not a problem that ’ s going to go away and they need help supporting them to deal with it so that there ’ s better patient outcomes ,” she says . “ We are crucial ,” Paula tells me . “ But I think we ’ ve got a lot to learn too . By sitting here , you can certainly see that there ’ s a whole lot of different organisations , police in health being one , and we need to work a little bit better together .
“ And because we ’ re able to exchange information freely , the police are able to give us a lot of information that we would never have had , and vice versa we ’ re able to exchange information with the police . So , it ’ s been incredible what ’ s come out of that partnership just in the short period of time .” ■ nursingreview . com . au | 27