Ambulance Victoria to take charge of mental health call-outs by end of 2024
A major reform recommended by a royal commission on mental health call-outs may take at least two years to be implemented.
Victoria
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A key royal commission recommendation to have paramedics take charge of mental health call-outs may not take place until 2024.
New details have emerged of how the major reform will be rolled out, including its timeline.
Last year a key finding of the royal commission into the mental health system was that Ambulance Victoria become the lead agency for mental health call-outs, rather than Victoria Police, to ensure a health-led response.
But now that legislation for these changes has been introduced it has been revealed the full rollout of this model has been given at least two years, with a deadline for the end of 2024.
About $7.5 million has been allocated to plan the change, which will include close co-operation between Ambulance Victoria, Victoria Police, the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority and the Department of Justice and Community Safety.
The process means the change will not come until well after the state election, even as the Police Association has warned of the pressures of police handling call-outs.
In June it was revealed Victoria Police spent 20,000 hours in the past year transferring mental health patients to take pressure off paramedics.
There was a 150 per cent increase in the number of times police were called in over paramedics for people needing support.
A state government spokeswoman said the first part of the work would be completed by the end of the year.
“That is to develop a process to change which triple-0 call codes should trigger attendance by health professionals rather than police,” she said.
“We are rebuilding the mental health system from the ground up to make sure Victorians in crisis get a safe, compassionate, health-led response and the supports they need close to home.
“Shifting the nature of emergency responses for people with mental health-related needs is a key recommendation from the royal commission – and work is already under way to develop and deliver a new response model, with Ambulance Victoria and Victoria Police involved in this critical work along with other relevant healthcare bodies.”
People who receive treatment, their families and carers will also be given better chances to make complaints and improve the system as it is overhauled.
It comes as an IT program that was supposed to arm ambulances with vital data has been shelved.
The program would have provided paramedics with key data on mental health history, health concerns and other issues, but it has now been pushed into the 2023 financial year and its budget reduced.
It’s understood the project is being restarted, with the budget to be adjusted.
“While this project is designed to improve the care our paramedics provide to the community, it does not have a direct impact on how paramedics respond to incidents,” a government spokesman said.
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