Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-04-01 Daily Xml

Contents

Mental Health Services

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:14): Just in relation to the police callouts: would police, when they are called out, be required to be accompanied by, or would they expect to find, an ambulance or paramedics at a location, rather than police arriving alone and there is no backup from paramedics?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:14): I think that really does depend on the nature of the callout. Also, I think it's really important to appreciate the challenging environment within which police work, ambulance officers and our emergency departments, because it is often very difficult to tell: is this a mental health presentation? Is this a substance abuse incident? And with all due respect, people with disability from time to time are mistaken for a person who has a mental health challenge. To have a blanket rule that there shall be no police response to a mental health case would not work.

The PRESIDENT: Final supplementary, the Hon. Mr Pangallo.