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Essex County OPP working with Leamington hospital to combat mental health 'crisis'

Essex County OPP working with Leamington hospital to combat mental health 'crisis'

Essex County OPP are working with hospital staff in Leamington to better serve the community, where the number of mental health calls has nearly quadrupled over the past five years.

The Leamington District Memorial Hospital and provincial police introduced a new agreement Wednesday morning that will provide a more "formal approach" to assisting people in the emergency department who are having a mental health crisis.

"This represents the next step in helping our communities,' said OPP inspector Glenn Miller.

The number of mental health calls in Leamington went from 45 in 2011 to 214 in 2016, according to Miller, who called the situation a "crisis."

The Transfer of Care Memorandum of Agreement will do the following:

- Ensure a standardized approach to patients arriving at the LDMH

- Ensure the safety of patients, hospital staff, police and the public

- Ensure patients accompanied by the OPP at the hospital are transitioned as quickly as possible from police to the hospital

Vice president of patient services at the hospital Cheryl Deter said the agreement was about trust and not a turf battle over who should provide mental health care.

"Turf has got to go away because there's enough for all of us if we work together," she said.