Published Date: Jun 9th, 2023
An innovative approach to supporting people who contact emergency services with a mental health need or emotional distress could soon be piloted in Levenmouth.
Plans have been drawn up for a six-month pilot project which aims to better target help to those who need it.
A working group - with representation from Fife Council, Fife Health and Social Care Partnership, NHS Fife (A&E), Community Mental Health, Scottish Ambulance Service, Fife Alcohol and Drugs Partnership, Police Scotland and the Scottish Association of Mental Health – was created to discuss where sustainable, long-term solutions may lie and what options are open to partners to ensure the right agency gets to the right people at the right time.
It has been agreed that a Mental Health Triage Car, supplied by the Scottish Ambulance Service, could soon be deployed between 8pm and 6am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in the Levenmouth area.
This has the aim of enhancing the experience of individuals who contact services with a mental health need by giving them timely access to specialist care and assessment in the community.
Any calls will come through the Scottish Ambulance Service – either via 999 or from police directly – and the team within the car can monitor, triage and respond as required from the information available to them.
Each vehicle will be staffed by one mental health paramedic and a nurse skilled in mental health assessment.
The six-month pilot is expected to cost just under £92,000, and councillors on Fife Council’s Levenmouth Area Committee have agreed in principle to fund it from the Community Recovery Fund pending further assurances from partners.
Councillor Colin Davidson, Area Committee convener, said: “Fife Council is committed to dealing with the challenges of mental health among all our residents.
“This area of work is a key priority for all our partners here in Levenmouth and this initiative will build on the work already taking place.”
Councillor David Graham, Fife Council spokesperson for health and social care, added: "All partners involved in this area are determined to ensure people can get the support they need when they need it, and that's been our goal from the outset.
"This pilot project is a fantastic step forward and it's an approach we hope could be replicated elsewhere if it proves successful.
"We need to understand what impact the mental health triage car will - and could - have on Police Scotland, the Scottish Ambulance Service and health and social care services, but we believe enhanced collaboration between agencies will reduce calls to the police and lessen the impact on primary and secondary care in Levenmouth."
Lynne Garvey, Fife Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “The Health and Social Care partnership, in collaboration with Scottish Ambulance Service, Police Scotland and Fife Council are delighted to take forward this innovative approach to test a mental health triage model, responding to individuals who contact emergency services with a mental health need.
“The test of change will allow services to understand if this approach makes a difference to the immediate outcome for individuals, the wider community and other health services, with a start date still to be agreed.”
Inspector Matt Spencer, of the community policing team in Levenmouth, added: “Partnership working is essential to provide the best possible care to vulnerable people in our community in need of support and at times of crisis.
“We look forward to supporting partners in this excellent initiative where required and believe it will make a long term difference to the lives of people in the Levenmouth area.”
It is hoped the project could start as early as this Autumn, although commencement is dependent on the availability of SAS staff and recruitment to backfill the mental health nurse position.
More details on the background behind the pilot project, and the project itself, is available by reading item 4 on the Levenmouth Area Committee agenda.