Metropolitain Police ? - why are they having anything to do with the mentally - that's the job of the NHS and Social Services
The 'I' reports that a Commission, Chaired by Lord Adbowale is highly critical of the multiple mistakes made by police in dealing with people with mental illness. Their conclusion was that this poor handling could have contributed to dozens of deaths.
The report comes after an examination of 50 deaths of patients who came into contact with Metropolitan police over a five year period. Instances of discriminatory attitudes, and unsuitable force being used on one prisoner during a particularly long restraint.
Oddly enough I don,t seek to add to the criticism of their handling of the mentally ill because it is not part of their primary function, therefore they should not be used as a backstop in order to cover up the failings and inadequacies of our depleted mental health services. As long as ten years ago, I predicted that cutting services like hospital care and attempting to transfer to Care in the Community would invitably result in th police having to cope with more and more of these cases. They are not trained for it. Psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses are the only people qualified to deal with problems with the mentally ill in the community.
My previous post ( about the use of tasers on the mentally ill ) proves that the only way to deal with so-called difficult mentally ill patients is by the professionals with the skills to do the job. Hardly surprising then that stigmatisation is on the increase when the mentally ill are demonised this way, as though they were criminals, carrying out premeditated criminal acts. They do not deserve to be punished merely for being ill, they need help like talking therapies and occupational therapy. However, the nHS and the government stand by and do nothing, choosing to continue their cost-cutting and rationalisation of mental health services with their usual lack of concern for such vulnerable patients. R. W.
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