Authorities and mentally ill patients

Hi Jimmy,

thanks for contacting us.  I am not sure of the context of your question however I am aware that NSW Police have recently adopted initiatives to assist them in dealing with people with a mental illness and having a more diverse knowledge base and perspective.

The NSW Police have introduced a specialised team and training for frontline police. The team, The Mental Health Intervention Team (MHIT) undergo extensive training that deals with mental health issues, symptoms, communication, carer and consumer perspectives, negotiation skills, etc. The course is run by NSW Police but is a partnership between Police, NSW Department of Health and community organisations such as Schizophrenia Fellowship (NSW).  The team is under the command of Inspector Joel Murchie who is based in the Police Centre at Surry Hills.

I have had a number of dealings with Inspector Murchie and have found the team to be focussed on providing a more balanced view and response to people in the community who live with a mental illness. The initiave will see a number of 'frontline' police and senior officers trained in this area which will provide a positive influence.

I hope this answers your question.

Kindest Regards

Keiran Booth

CEO - Mental Health Carers ARAFMI NSW

Dear Keiran,

I replied earlier but my message wasnt posted. Thank you for the above message.

kind regards,

jimmy

I have question, but first the basic situation last night my housemate and long time friend who is very estranged from her family began self harming and angry to the point of a physical confrontation with my other housemate, which I was able to break up before it got serious (no blows actually exchanged.) but then i talked to my depressed housemate and after convincing her to call lifeline, found her in the kitchen with a knife to her wrists.
IN that situation when is it appropriate or necessary to call the authorities? either the police or an ambulance or something?

Roanna, Thanks for your comments. In situations such as this it is imperative that medical assistance is sought straight away. It is not our role (as non clinical members of the public) to assess the mental health of a person. This is a role for a qualified clinician and is best done in hospital. So in this case, if you have any concerns about the health or safety of the individual or the harm to others you should contact the appropriate authority. If a weapon is involved then I would suggest that the police are the appropriate authority. You can speak with them and let them know the history and the circumstances in which you are calling. Any episode of self harming behaviour should be dealt with as a serious matter and the person referred to  the appropriate medical authority for treatment.

If you need any further support or information, please feel free to contact ourInformation and Support Line which is available Monday to Friday from 9am - 5pm. You can call the line on (02) 9332-0700 or toll free onm 1800 655 198.

I think particular police do not take serious people with mental illness. I have witnessed a tendendcy for them to be bias towards towards people that are well, against victims with a mental illness. I am working on a researc project for my college and I hope it will shed some light to your site. I understand the police have many issues to deal with in society, but the mentally affirmed need to be looked after equally and without prejudice, God help them and us the carers.

I think that sometimes it might be hard to recognize patients that are mentally ill. Some look like typical functioning adults or kids. I don't think it is fair for police to discriminate against mentally ill patients, but it would be wise for them to have some training on how to best handle the situation if they were ever involved with a mentally ill patient. I know that you can't just stick a mentally ill patient in a hospital bed Indianapolis if they are ill. The mentally ill patients need to be admitted for a specific reason so that they won't be in danger of harming themselves or others.

I understand the police have many issues to deal with in society, but the mentally affirmed need to be looked after equally and without prejudice, God help them and us the carers.
Thanks for the detailed information.
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There were 4 shooting deaths of people with mental issues in 2009 and many since. Now, to try to save innocent lives, our family is starting a campaign to stop Police misuse of guns (taser is better) and to have an education program for the police and Ambulance services to know how to react in a case of mental issues. There has been a recent program started in Perth WA where a mental health expert goes with the police to a call out that involves mental issues/ self harming etc. My son Adam Salter was wrongly shot dead (at 1m, in the back) by police in Sydney on 18.11.09.  Adam had mental issues & was self harming but he was no threat to anyone but himself. When Adam first started self-harming with a knife, my husband, Adrian, had taken the knife off Adam and put it in the sink. He called the ambulance- the ambulance medicos called the police. At Adam's recent Coronial Inquest (25.09.11) Magistrate Mitchell said that if the police had NOT been there, Adam would still be alive, his knife wounds were superficial. And now that his Inquest is over, my family and I are now able to speak out against police ignorance. We aim to educate the public and others about the useless deaths from police bullets. In the end, I can't bring my beloved son back but we need to push for police and ambos to be educated about mental health needs. 

My brother is not well. He suffers from what I believe to be a mental illness. I am also certain that he has and drug addiction. He goes out often and returns home a few days later. In recent times, it has been a nightmare living with him. He demands that I give him money and threatens to hit me if I don't. He swears and calls me names and tells me what a shelfish person I am for not helping him out. He lies about why he needs money and throws aggression toward my mother for not supplying him with cigarettes on a daily basis. Our family is at our wits end and have decided to abandon him - move home without him knowing and just leave when he is not home. But honestly, I don't know if this is the right thing to do. I know it's right for the safety of my mother and myself but I cannot help feel sad and guilty towards him. My own GP has given me assurance that abandoning him would be the best thing to do for all of us but I just don't know anymore. I want him out of our lives but I don't want him homeless either. I've abandoned him in the past and take him in again and do it all over again and again. I feel as though I'm going crazy. Can some one give me information on Involutary Admission to mental illness facilities? Is this the way to go for me? What should I do? Please help.

Sorry, I got carried away on my earlier post and drifted away from the subject of Authority & patients. I've always felt that if my brother's violence escalated higher to a point where I needed to call the police, then he would be taken away in custody no doubt and be charged as a criminal. But would the police know by just looking at him that what he really needs is help? What happens afterwards? After they've layed charges? I'm pretty certain that the whole situation will make things worse for everyone in the family. There is a fear that after the ordeal, he would certainly return home with a vengeance in mind and god knows what would happen then? He is worse off mentally. How on earth would he cope with that? How would I? Do we really have a solution? Who can help? Certainly not the police. They would definitely not see him with sympathy especially given his long list of offences (there are so many) records dating back since he was a teenager (he is now 48yrs). Who is to blame when he is from a broken family ruined by his violent abusive father? Who do we turn to now?