Gwent Police’s newest department – Mental Health Triage Team – is at the forefront in tackling crises on an hour-by-hour basis. Reporter Tomos Povey visited the control room in Gwent Police HQ to learn more

Offering police staff critical information in emergencies is what a new Gwent Police department specialises in.

The new team, the first of its kind in Wales, was set up seven months ago.

Known as the Mental Health Triage Team, its staff offer help to police dealing with vulnerable people.

Any calls made to Gwent Police, whether it be 999 or 101, are transferred to a control room.

The Mental Health Triage Team was introduced to the room as well.

Members of the team are on hand to offer help to staff with live incidents, especially with any vulnerable person facing a mental health crisis.

In its first seven months it has already made a difference.

David Richards, who is based at Gwent Police HQ in Croesyceiliog, manages the team of five in an extremely busy environment.

“We have had on average 30 logs a day,” he said.

“That is quite a lot, when you come to think of it. You do not know what you will be faced with each day. Most of our callers are people who have never called before.

“We have been running since February.

“We had about 12 callers a day back in February but that is not the case anymore. Our peak activities are from midday to midnight – but these can change.

“Some of these logs can be sorted quite quickly, while others can take days.”

Mr Richards recalls one incident in particular.

“An old person, who had dementia, thought there was someone in the house”, he said.

“So this person rang us and we were asked for help.

“But the person thought there was someone there because of the condition. We then contacted the person’s care co-ordinator for help. It was then sorted.

“This shows we are able to save valuable police time.”

Mr Richards explained that one of the department’s biggest successes so far has been saving police resources.

“It is a unique task force and we are the first of our kind in Wales,” he said. “But triage teams have been operating elsewhere in the UK before us.

“It was a bold move by Gwent Police to create this sort of team. It is jointly funded by Gwent Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner office.

“There had been a pilot which had run for 18 months. That pilot was successful and, after we were set up, we have made a lot of success. Our team have reduced the times that police officers have had to go out on calls.

“Police resources and costs are being saved by having a more appropriate mental health team to deal with mental health crises.

“The overall aim is to help the service user when he or she rings.”

One of many members of staff to feel the benefit of the team is chief inspector force incident manager Ryan Francis.

He said that the team provides “incredible insight” on a daily basis.

“The team is a brilliant asset to the force and I would like to thank them for all their hard work,” he said.

“They have the knowledge and skills to change a situation that we are faced with. They also have access to data bases which can be very helpful.

“Having the team here has improved Gwent Police.”

When the Gwent Police control room receive a call, handlers (that is, police staff) have the option to ‘tag in’ someone from the mental health team, if they deem it appropriate.

Members of the mental health team can then exclusively access “read-only” data bases to help in a crisis.

“The initial stage is normally the caller and the call handler,” said Mr Richards.

“After that initial exchange, anyone in the control room who feels they will benefit from the Mental Health Triage Team can tag us in.

“We will look at the system and have read-only access to health and social services data bases which can be very helpful.

“For example, we once had a call from someone threatening suicide.

Before our team came to Gwent Police, officers would have gone to the scene ASAP. But that may not have been the best option.

During this particular situation, we looked at the data bases and saw that the person was in 24-hour accommodation and is probably in his or her bedroom with the care worker outside.

“We then contacted the home and the care staff will go to the person and offer support. That is a better outcome for all sides.

“But I need to say that all calls are different. In some cases, police do need to go out.”

The team, which operates between 8am to 2am daily, has already won an array of accolades for their tireless work.

The team manager said: “We operate from 8am to 2am. It is not a 24-hour service at the moment because we have tried to concentrate on the greater call times.

“Despite not running 24 hours, we have gone on to win awards. We have them downstairs in the building.

“I am very pleased with what we have achieved. We just need to ensure that we keep it up now.

“There are a lot of people out there who need us.”