(file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Mental Health

RCMP psych nurse program to be permanent

Dec 23, 2022 | 2:38 PM

After a year-long test run, the Saskatchewan RCMP will have psychiatric nurses permanently on staff at the operational communication centre.

RCMP say that during the 12 months of the trial, 99.8 per cent of callers with a mental health crisis agreed to talk to the nurse on duty and 80 per cent of those assessed were immediately referred to a mental health service or to addiction service.

The program also allowed 71 per cent of the callers to avoid being driven to an emergency department for help.

The RCMP says callers have responded well to the change.

“This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Thank you for being able to talk to me and get me help,” one caller is said to have stated.

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Adding another two nurses to the roster means there are now four in he program with the last of the four finishing their third week of work today.

During the week, callers can talk to the nurse between noon and midnight and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, they are available 24 hours.

Jocelyn James, manager of the OCC, said it’s good to see the plan in action.

“We worked hard to adapt a European model to the reality of Saskatchewan’s remote regions, and to develop processes that allow two very different professions to work together. It was all well worth it,” she said.

James said she has personally followed the program for the last year and is confident it will make a difference in the lives of people who call 911 during a mental health crisis.

According to the news release issued by RCMP, one officer said they find it helpful to have options other than taking a person to cells or to the hospital.

The program is paid for by the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

The OCC is the call centre receiving the 911 calls of residents in need of police service in small towns and rural areas across Saskatchewan and is located in Regina.

It gets more than 350,000 calls for service annually and as many requests from officers across the province. It operates with a staff of between six and 12 operators and one nurse in a shift.