Street Triage Team gets ready for launch

A team of paramedics are joining police officers and mental health nurses to form the Mental Health Street Triage team in Bedfordshire. 

The Street Triage launched on Tuesday (31^st May), and involves a police officer, paramedic and mental health professional team up in one car to respond to mental health crisis calls together, 365 days a year. 

Our team includes Lola Arch, Dave Dixon, Jo Hare, Lisa Mirkett and Warren Olsen who will help cover the whole county, operating from 3pm – 1am, with bases at Police HQ in Kempston and at Luton police station. 

The triage is designed to ensure patients have fast and efficient access to the care they need, and is a partnership between EEAST, Bedfordshire Police, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group and Luton Clinical Commissioning Group. 

Duncan Moore, Area Clnical Lead and lead for mental health, said: “Research from the charity Mind shows that one in four of us will experience a mental health crisis at some point. In 2013/14, Bedfordshire Police attended around 3,700 mental health related incidents. 

“We are committed to developing the understanding and awareness of various mental health conditions, so we are able to help people with diverse needs living in our communities.”

Published 8th July, 2016