The Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (NTW) NHS Foundation Trust and Northumbria Police operate a street triage service across Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Sunderland, South Tyneside and Gateshead. The street triage teams comprise dedicated police constables and Band 6 mental health nurses. The police constables and nurses are located together and are co-located within crisis teams. All of the staff within the teams have experience of working alongside crisis teams in order to develop their assessment skills.
Various kinds of triage service (‘street triage’ or ‘community triage’) are provided by health and policing partners in different parts of the country but the primary functions are consistent: to reduce the inappropriate use of section 136 of the Mental Health Act; to ensure that the police are appropriately supported in managing mental health crises; and to provide people of all ages with access to the right support from professionals.
The Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (NTW) NHS Foundation Trust and Northumbria Police operate a street triage service across Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Sunderland, South Tyneside and Gateshead. The street triage teams comprise dedicated police constables and Band 6 mental health nurses. The police constables and nurses are located together and are co-located within crisis teams. All of the staff within the teams have experience of working alongside crisis teams in order to develop their assessment skills. All of the nurses receive enhanced suicide, risk assessment and perturbation training, as well as dual diagnosis training. Staff also receive Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act training, and all receive monthly supervision. The service operates between the hours of 10.00 a.m. and 03.00 a.m., seven days a week. The introduction of street triage teams reduced section 136 detentions by 56% in the first 12 months. From June 2015 to May 2016, there were just 204 detentions under section 136 in the area covered by NTW.
More recently, the street triage teams have become involved in community treatment order (CTO) recalls, and the service is looking to develop processes where the team can conduct police welfare checks requested by NTW where appropriate. When the police encounter a person with a possible mental health problem, the street triage team will conduct a face-to-face triage assessment and will help to arrange the next stage of care, where appropriate. This may include a referral to another service, and/or follow-up the next day by the street triage team. The teams also serve in an advisory capacity to police constables and other statutory and non-statutory agencies, which has led to improved outcomes for people experiencing mental health crises. The NTW street triage teams serve a population of approximately 1.4 million people, across 2,200 square miles. Standards of service are measured and evaluated using a variety of methods including the ‘Points of You’ questionnaire, focus groups, carer forums, staff training and clinical supervision. To ensure that people who use the service are involved in decision-making and self-management, individual collaborative care planning and ‘Wellness Recovery Action Plans’ (WRAPs) are used.
