Too risky to end police's mental health role, say medics

Plans for NHS staff to restrain and detain people experiencing a mental health crisis, instead of the police doing so, are "dangerous", doctors, nurses and psychiatrists have said.

- Denis Campbell

The former prime minister Theresa May has proposed legislation that would change the long-established practice for dealing with people who may pose a risk to themselves or others because their mental health has deteriorated sharply.

But a coalition of eight medical groups, ambulance bosses and social work leaders said the switch would put staff at risk and damage their relationship with vulnerable patients.

The row has echoes of the controversy stirred by the Metropolitan police's decision in 2023 to stop responding to 999 calls involving mental ill-health unless they involved a threat to life. The force said the change meant officers are attending crimes such as robberies faster, but mental health groups said they feared it could result in deaths.