Leading lawyer says more needs to be done to help those suffering mental health problems
A £25m funding boost for mental health services is little more than “papering the cracks”, according to a leading mental health lawyer.
Richard Charlton, head of mental health at Creighton & Partners, welcomes the announcement of funds for extra psychiatric nurses to be provided at police stations, but says more needs to be done. The nurses will be on call to conduct mental health assessments, with the aim of diverting people out of the criminal justice system and towards health and care services at an early stage.
The police station is often the first port of call for people suffering from mental health issues, before they move on to further assessment, regardless of whether they have engaged in any criminal activity.
Charlton says: “There are not enough hospital beds, and community support is facing cutbacks. However, any step that encourages the ability of police to identify mental health issues at the time of arrest is a good thing.”
Charlton says the scarcity of hospital beds means patients can be transferred hundreds of miles away, with one client recently being transferred from Kent to Scotland.
