The Manitoba government is investing more than $450,000 from the Federal Proceeds of Crime Fund to expand and maintain the use of a new tool that improves responses to people in crisis and reduces the risk of harm.
Justice Minister Cliff Cullen says HealthIM helps law enforcement officers who are usually the first line of response to emergency mental health crisis situations, “This system supports a more empathetic and evidence-based response to citizens suffering from unmanaged mental health challenges and protects the public, medical staff and the person in crisis.”
The minister noted the funding supports RCMP detachments across the province as they install the evidence-based risk assessment tool in patrol cars and mobile devices. When police respond to a call and find a person in a mental health crisis, the tool helps them determine the most appropriate response based on their observations and an assessment of the potential risks.
In lower-risk situations, the HealthIM assessment might allow the person to work with the officer to co-ordinate a referral to a local mental health agency, which would receive a copy of the officer’s assessment and then assign a worker to followup. In higher-risk situations, the tool will help officers determine an approach to safely reduce the likelihood the person will harm themselves or others. Officers will also be able to see if the person has had a prior mental health crisis involving a police response.
HealthIM receivers have also been installed in local emergency rooms, nursing stations and community mental health agencies to support secure information sharing.
Manitoba will be the first province in Canada to expand this mental health tool across the province.
To date, more than $39.8 million has been invested in 22 initiatives to improve mental health and addictions services throughout the province. These investments help ensure better outcomes for people in mental health crisis, manage the demands placed on police officers and ensure appropriate support is provided when and where it is needed, the minister noted.
In all, the Manitoba government has committed more than $750,000 to ensure police officers across the province can access HealthIM.
Between July 2019 and June 2020, Health IM was used 4,087 times, and in 28.5 per cent of cases, the person remained in the community and did not require hospitalization or other urgent interventions. In the same time period, Manitoba has seen a 57.5 per cent decrease in apprehension rates and a 68 per cent decrease in average hospital wait times. This ensures officers can spend more time in the community doing active police work, and less time transporting or waiting with individuals in hospital.
