Mental Health Joint Response Car for Mid & South Essex

A new vehicle has been launched to help with mental health issues in the Mid and South Essex areas. 
 
The Mental Health Joint Response Car is staffed by an ambulance clinician and a mental health specialist and can help ensure people with mental health emergencies can get the right care.
The car is the first of its kind on the roads in Mid and South Essex and follows the successful rollout of similar vehicles across the EEAST region. 

The vehicle and emergency clinicians are provided by EEAST clinicians while mental health professionals from Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) join the team.
The scheme is supported by Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board. 

The vehicle is ready for callouts from 1pm to 1am 7 days a week, and the onboard team can assist with issues involving the legal framework around, for example, the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act and concerns regarding risk to the patient and public.  

Dan Phillips – Interim Deputy Clinical Director said: “Our clinicians can make assessments about the physical welfare of patients and can provide pre-hospital care, while the mental health professionals have the ability to triage patients straight into mental health services. This can avoid people with mental health needs being taken to Accident and Emergency departments, which are the wrong place for them to be, and can cause further distress.

Accessing the Mental Health Joint Response Car 
If you are a crew in the Mid and South Essex region and wish to discuss your patient with the team, please call: 07751 730071
or use Call Sign ERMHC-03.

Published 15th May 2023