Mental Health Street Triage

Abstract

This article explores the implementation of Cleveland Police’s pilot Street Triage (ST) service. The service aimed to reduce the number of section 136 detentions under the Mental Health Act and improve referral pathways for those presenting with mental health issues. The initiative was funded by Tees, Esk, and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust. Dedicated ST mental health nurses accompanied police officers to incidents where it was suspected that mental health issues were a presenting concern. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 strategic and operational stakeholders to review whether the project was successful. Analysis was supplemented with secondary data from the ST Team. We conclude that there were significantly fewer section 136 detentions, and identify continuing challenges.