The Provincial Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committee (HSJCC) is developing an Information Guide on Police-Emergency Room Protocols.
Police officers, by virtue of their role as emergency responders, are often the first to arrive on the scene of a mental health crisis, and they often accompany people to the emergency room. Police officers and emergency room staff can offer unique insight about how to make the emergency room more efficient for all, both in terms of reducing wait times for police officers and increasing care for the person in crisis.
The purpose of the HSJCC Info Guide is to assist police services and hospitals in Ontario to reduce emergency room wait times for police officers who are accompanying individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. The Info Guide will provide an overview of key information contained in protocols devised and implemented by police services, emergency room staff and community service providers, including identifying key players, contact information, processes, implementation, ongoing monitoring, and evaluation. The Info Guide will also provide an inventory of replicable, successful protocols from across Ontario that have been proven to reduce emergency room wait times for police. The Info Guide is being developed by a working group of the Provincial HSJCC.
To help inform this Info Guide, the Provincial HSJCC is requesting police services, emergency room staff, emergency medical services (EMS) staff and community service providers who have knowledge of police-emergency room issues to complete a call for information and to submit any policies, protocols, standard forms and/or memorandums of understanding that are currently in place across Ontario that help to reduce emergency room wait times for police.
The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, January 15, 2013.
For more information and to complete the call for information, visit the Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committee website.