The use of a dedicated vehicle to respond to mental health emergencies is being expanded in Inverness following a successful pilot.

Mobile mental health triage teams currently operate in Dundee, Glasgow and Inverness and respond to people who are experiencing mental health challenges and have contacted emergency services for ambulance support.          

Backed by £2.6m over the last three years, the programme allows people experiencing mental health distress access to specialist mental health assessment, care and support within their community.

The expansion plan will see an additional five specially trained paramedics and nurses brought in to staff the Inverness response car which will now provide services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Michael Dickson, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS), said:

“Our clinicians are often the first responders to have contact with a person experiencing mental health distress. These are patients with very specific needs and often require specialist help and support to make sure they get the right care.

“These units are staffed by paramedics who have undertaken advanced mental health training. The aim is to treat these patients at home, within the community, or through specialist mental health support and our staff work in partnership with mental health practitioners at New Craigs Hospital to provide the best possible support to any individual going through mental health distress.”

In 2019, the Scottish Ambulance Service received more than 17,000 mental health related calls.

Mr Dickson says the pilot is part of the Service’s efforts to ensure people can receive the care they need in a place that is right for them:

“It’s been a really successful initiative so far and our ambition across all three pilot areas is to connect people to the most appropriate care to meet their needs and for them to get the right care, in the right place.”

Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, Maree Todd MSP, visited the Mental Health Paramedic Unit earlier this week to mark the expansion of the service.

She said:

“This is a dynamic and evolving service responding to people who need emergency mental health support and, importantly, this expansion will allow that support to be provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week in Inverness.

“Everyone in Scotland, in need of mental health support should know the various ways that they can access help, whether through NHS inform, their GP, the NHS 24 Mental Health Hub or through SAS when there is an immediate threat to life.”

In the picture: Trevor Bechtel, Mental Health Paramedic Team Leader, SAS; Michael Dickson, Chief Executive, SAS; Ricky Begg, Mental Health Paramedic Response Unit Service Manager, SAS; Mental Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd; Lesley Smith, Mental Health Assessment Unit Nurse Manager, NHS Highland; Iona Crawford, Dementia and Mental Health Lead, SAS; Steven Gorman, Head of Service (Highland), SAS; Milne Weir, Regional Director - North, SAS.

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