App helps officers assess a subject’s mental state
Using laptop in car, officers can gauge best course of action during a call
Like all police officers, Insp. Cory Lindskog has responded to many mental health crisis calls during his career — some of which he can only describe as heartbreaking.
“There are a lot of unknowns,” Lindskog said. “First of all, it’s being able to determine that this person is in crisis and needs help, and then trying to figure out what kind of help this person needs.”
Police officers in Regina and Saskatoon are using a software application called HealthIM to evaluate a person’s mental state.
When patrol members arrive at a call, they use the app — which is installed on laptops in their patrol cars — to assess the risk the individual presents to himself or others.
“It’s not that we’re diagnosing people, because that’s certainly not our role,” Lindskog said. “It just gives us more information. Are they delusional? Are they drinking?”
Using HealthIM, officers can gauge the risk of harm to the person and others, record their observations, violence indicators and responses of the individual, caretakers and bystanders.
After answering the questions, the app provides a score out of 10 for the person — one being low risk and 10 being high.
“If the score is high, they have to get the individual to hospital,” Lindskog said. “If it’s lower, this person may need to be referred to mental health resources in the community.”
Police have always assessed mental health calls, but the app is more precise at pinpointing problems and educating officers about what to look for in crisis situations.
“As a police agency, we’re dealing with a lot of mental health calls,” Lindskog said.
Exactly how many mental health calls police respond to is difficult to quantify. Some are obvious, such as calls for attempted suicide and executing mental health warrants. Other times, calls don’t fall neatly in the mental health category.
“It can be an assault or a domestic and the person may be having mental health issues, but that isn’t the primary reason that we got called,” Lindskog said.
“Now, with HealthIM, no matter what kind of call we’re on, we can say: ‘I need to do a mental health screen on this person because there’s something else going on here.’ ”
The Regina Police Service started piloting the app about two months ago.
“It’s a six-month pilot project that we’re doing alongside the Saskatoon Police Service,” Lindskog said. “We’re working with the Saskatchewan Health Authority to see what value it’s having for them and what value it has for us.”
Lorri Carlson, a transition lead with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, said no data are available yet from the pilot, but one benefit should be reducing the number of people police are bringing to emergency departments and therefore reducing emergency room waits.
HealthIM establishes a secure connection to the General Hospital in Regina and Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon.
The behavioural assessment is transmitted in real time to an ER’s triage desk.
“It’s a systematic and very wellresearched brief mental health screen, so it’s something that’s standardized rather than just based on a police officer’s rendition about what he’s worried about,” Carlson said.
The information includes the person’s risk — to themselves, others and to self care — such as a deterioration in their general living circumstances.
The triage and psychiatric nurses in the ER appreciate having standardized information at their fingertips, Carlson said.
“It’s heartbreaking to see people in crisis,” Lindskog said.
“It’s very rewarding when you see somebody, either on an unrelated call or out in public, and you see that they’ve gotten some help and they’ve found their way back from suffering and crisis,” he said.