A mobile mental health and substance use crisis team is set to hit Kelowna streets.
Interior Health and the Kelowna RCMP announced Tuesday they’ve partnered to create a Police and Crisis Team (PACT), that pairs a trained police officer and psychiatric nurse to provide an enhanced community response to people experiencing a mental health and/or substance use crisis.
Kelowna Supt. Brent Mundle announced in December that the new team was coming during his budget presentation to council.
On Tuesday, he said after seeing the success of similar teams in Alberta when he was there, he felt it would be good use of resources here. He said he used one of the six new officers funded by the city two years ago to create the PACT team. There are already PACT teams operating in Kamloops, Vancouver and in Surrey.
“Combined with the expertise of a mental health nurse, it is anticipated this new PACT program will provide an enhanced service to people in distress and, ultimately, offer them a high degree of patience, care and compassion,” said Mundle.
Police recognize the value of taking the time to talk with the person in distress, to ask the right questions, and to listen, said the officer-in-charge of the Kelowna RCMP detachment.
He added the PACT team will operate Monday to Friday between 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Those hours are based on data showing the times the police here typically get the most mental health calls.
Mundle said up to know when an officer gets a mental health call, he or she has to assesses the person to decide if apprehension under the Mental Health Act is required and if so then has to bring the person to hospital. There, another assessment has to be done if the person is to be admitted. As a result, the officer has to stay with the person and that takes him or her off the streets for several hours.
An IH official said last year Kelowna police officers spent an accumulated 800 hours in KGH with people requiring mental and medical health services.
The new approach will allow the highly-trained nurse to assess the situation and, if appropriate, point the person to other services that are available in the community or bring the person to hospital. The PACT team will assess needs and connect the person in crisis with appropriate services with a goal to reduce repeat visits to the local emergency department, as well as reduce repeat mental health calls to police.
Last year, there were more than 4,000 mental health and substance use admissions to Kelowna General Hospital’s emergency department. Approximately 15 per cent of those visits were people who returned within 30 days.
Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran praised the creation of the PACT team , saying mental health and substance use isn’t just a health concern, it requires the support of the entire community.”
IH board member Rene Wasylyk called the collaborative approach “exciting,” noting to create meaningful change, groups have to work together.
“This team will help many people,”she predicted.
The PACT officer and nurse began training earlier this month and patrolled together for the first time Monday.
Mundle said they reported a “very positive” interaction with one person in crisis, a positive start to the program.