Auditor-General Des Pearson has found police, ambulance and crisis assessment teams are failing to adequately respond to people in mental health crisis due to a lack of resources and training.
“The needs of the person in crisis at times comes second to other considerations, such as competing demands on time and resources, and historical and cultural practices,” he said in his report tabled in the Victorian Parliament today.
More than 900 people in mental health crisis were held in police stations, often in cells, in 2008-09.
Sometimes a person may be behaving violently but police will also hold people in mental health crisis in cells for other reasons, such as intoxication.
This practice goes against the chief psychiatrist of Victoria’s guidelines and breaches the state’s charter of human rights, Mr Pearson said.
“Proper practice is for these people to be cared for in a healthcare environment,” he said.
Mr Pearson also found sometimes police do not bother to contact crisis assessment teams because they are left waiting for hours in emergency departments waiting for mental health assessments to begin.
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