Their Mind in Your Hands: developing education and practice for police emergency response to mentall

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Their Mind in Your Hands developing education
and practice for police emergency response to
mentally disordered offenders

• Karen Wright
• Ivan McGlen
• University of Central Lancashire
• Inspector David Croll
• Lancashire Constabulary

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Introductions

• Ivan Emergency Nurse (Adult)
• Karen Mental Health Nurse
• David (Senior Police officer)

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Inspiration

• Shared S136 MHA (1983) experience
• Decisions seem to be right- e.g. most people
  subsequently admitted to wards
• However, histories and rationale given variable
• no consistent tool available to assist this
  process.

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a person found in a public place who appears to
be suffering from a mental disorder and to be in
immediate need of care and control.
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Risk to self- vulnerability
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Identification of the research question (Parahoo
1997)

• Title To ascertain what factors influence the
  police decision to remove a person from a public
  place to a place of safety under Section 136
  (Mental Health Act 1983)?

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Collaboration with Lancashire Constabulary

• Positive
• Receptive
• Partnership and collaboration
• Transparency
• See beyond the offence- see the whole person

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Section 136 (MHA 1983)

• The police may, in the interests of the person or
  for the protection of others, remove to a place
  of safety a person found in a public place who
  appears to be suffering from a mental disorder
  and to be in immediate need of care and control.
  (MHA 1983 )

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who appears to be suffering from a mental disorder

• How is this decision made?
• Action taken?
• How is this articulated ?

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Quick fire thinking

• Speed of the essence
• Medical experience not required
• Catalyst for care- not necessarily care delivery
• Efficiency and effectiveness
• Safeguarding the vulnerable

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study aims

• To identify the factors that influence the
  decision-making process of officers attending a
  situation where an individual may be experiencing
  mental health difficulties.
• To identify current decision making factors that
  lead to the implementation of S136 of the Mental
  Health Act 1983,
• To consider the emerging factors which could aid
  objective systematic assessment of such a
  situation?
• Develop a tool to aid and facilitate the decision
  making process of the police force
• Increase consistency of practice and
• Improve communication with community partners.
• This tool will be known as the Public
  Psychiatric Emergency Assessment Tool (PPEAT).

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Familiarity

• A Airway
• B Breathing
• C Circulation
• D Disability
• E Environment

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Tool to help make the right decisions fast

• Appearance
• Atmosphere
• Behaviour
• Communication
• Danger
• Environment

• This tool will be known as the Public
  Psychiatric Emergency Assessment Tool (PPEAT).

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Communication
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A tool that be used anywhere

• Recall

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contacts

• Karen Wright kmwright1_at_uclan.ac.uk
• Ivan McGlen
• IMcglen_at_uclan.ac.uk