Foggy mental health data

Contradictory figures raise concerns about flawed record keeping

A HUGE drop in police figures for call-outs to mental health incidents has contradicted claims the number is increasing — leading to concerns the record keeping is flawed.

Figures released last week showed a 64 per cent reduction in police attending mentally disturbed person call-outs last year — 362 call-outs compared with 1005 call-outs in 2013-14.

The numbers contrast with claims in the Rethink Mental Health Report and comments from Police Association of Tasmania president Pat Allen.

Mr Allen said police were de facto front-line workers for mental illness sufferers — often caught up in a “revolving-door” policy where officers escorted people with mental health problems into the hospital for assessment and then followed them back out the door because they were released, he said.

“The Mental Health Line calls us because there are no workers,’’ Mr Allen said.

The Rethink Mental Health Report highlighted police concerns at the increase in demand to deal with people experiencing mental illness.

Tasmania Police Assistant Commissioner Richard Cow- ling said the decrease in callouts could be explained by administrative recording of incident types or efforts by health authorities in regard to mental health interventions.

Mr Cowling said police comments in the Rethink Mental Health report related to the impact on police when they attended mental health incidents and escorted people to health facilities.

“If the health facility cannot immediately assume the duty of care for that person, then police retain the duty of care until they can,’’ he said.

A memorandum of understanding signed last November dictates police attend only mental health incidents where there is violence or the threat of violence.

But Mr Allen said calls logged as a disturbance and quickly escalated because of mental illness were not being recorded as a mental disturbance.

“Even if the numbers were true, police should never be called as first attenders — it’s as simple as that,’’ he said.

Mental Health Council Tasmania chief executive Connie Digolis said the decreased call-outs showed that data needed to be captured for each incident, hospital admissions and discharge planning.

“If they can’t determine why there has been a decrease, there is perhaps something missing in the monitoring and evaluation process,’’ she said.