City’s mental health place of safety ‘may need more beds’

The unit opened at Bootham Park Hospital yesterday is the second in North Yorkshire for people police believe are mentally disturbed and could be a danger to themselves and others.

Prior to the opening of a similar facility in Scarborough last month, England largest county was the only area of the country not to have such a base, meaning hundreds of people a year were being kept in police cells after being detained under Section 136.

Around 480 people were detained for up to 72 hours under Section 136 in 2012 in North Yorkshire, with 78 of those held in Scarborough and 275 in York.

Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner who has campaigned for new Section 136 facilities, welcomed the opening and the base was “desperately needed in York”.She said: “Ensuring North Yorkshire has a health based place of safety has been a top priority for me since being elected. I welcome the opening of this facility in York, which will finally give the professional support these patients need.”

She added: “I thank the NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups for finally making this happen, but we will have to wait and see whether there is enough capacity to support the needs of the community in York.

“With only one bed available, I need to be convinced that capacity at the facility is sufficient. With approximately 30 detainees per month across North Yorkshire, sometimes being admitted in clusters, I will be closely monitoring the situation.”

The Scarborough facility opened last Monday, which means North Yorkshire has gone from having no health based Section 136 provision, to having two facilities within seven days.

It will mean victims of mental health conditions who are subject to Section 136 provision will be treated in a hospital quickly and by health professionals.

Dr Mark Hayes, Chief Clinical Officer for Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “The Section 136 facility at York provides 24/7 access to essential, safe and dignified care for people with mental health problems.

“The suite is able to care for two patients per day – a facility that is based upon the anticipated use and equipped accordingly.”