I am writing to update you on our planning for changes Police will be making to their response to mental health, with the first phase to begin from the start of November. Our objective is to ensure that we work collaboratively with NZ Police at national, regional and district levels to support a safe and smooth transition.

Health NZ planning

A joint agency governance group involving Police, Ministry of Health, Hato Hone St John, Wellington Free Ambulance and Health New Zealand is ensuring we are all taking an agreed and aligned approach to these changes.  Below are the phases of change:

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We have established a Health NZ National Operational Working Group to work on implementation of new standard operating procedures and new NZ Police protocols for seeking their assistance. This group has representatives covering mental health, emergency department and security staff. We are working to include Lived Experience leads in this group.

To date, we have been working through what changes will be required in a range of scenarios focused on ED, mental health acute inpatient services, and transfers of mental health and addiction service users where staff currently seek Police assistance. This work includes what measures we need to put in place to prepare for a modified Police response. This includes but is not limited to security, and ongoing expansion of access to de-escalation training. At the heart of these discussions is ensuring our patients receive the right care at the right time, and their safety and that of our people is paramount.

Any changes will be agreed with Police at a national and district level to ensure appropriate and safe handover and Police continue to respond appropriately to requests for assistance. What has not changed are Police protocols that they will respond when an offence is being committed or there is an immediate risk to life or safety. This includes when there is a clear safety concern for a person experiencing mental distress, or others, and there is the potential for serious injury or death to occur.

Resources and support

We are currently developing the following resources to support Health NZ staff through these changes:

• National Standard Operating Procedures
• Agreed forms with Police on handover and requests for assistance
• FAQs for staff including legal guidelines
• Training resources

We expect to be able to share more detail on some changes to our standard operating procedures soon.

Stakeholder engagement

We have been meeting with health sector unions to inform them of our progress on this programme of work and have sought their direct input into our planning activity.

Work with our mental health and addiction NGO partners is ongoing so we can ensure tangata whaiora and providers continue to receive appropriate and safe care and support in the community.

MOU - Mental Health Schedule

It has jointly been agreed that the Mental Health schedule to the MOU is no longer current and that the schedule will be re-drafted. In the interim, a set of principles has been agreed to shape the Health NZ/Police relationship.

These include:

• The parties will take all reasonable steps to communicate effectively with and respond promptly to requests by the other party
• Mental health services are primarily responsible for helping people who are experiencing a mental health crisis
• A response to people in mental distress that has reached a crisis level is given the same priority as any other health emergency
• Mental health assessments should take place in the community (e.g. in the distressed person’s home) or in a health facility such as an emergency department.

Additionally, Police will continue to respond to mental health services where there appears to be serious risk, threats of harm, and to events where it appears an offence has been committed – in the same way they would respond to such events in the wider community.

Future updates

It is our intention to keep you informed throughout the year-long programme of Police changes to their mental health response. We will aim to provide regular updates on actions and initiatives under way and this information will also be available on national and local intranets.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact the project team through MHPoliceChanges@tewhatuora.govt.nz

Note: Please forward this information to your teams as required.

Ngā mihi

Karla