PATIENTS experiencing mental health concerns will receive enhanced care in the West Midlands thanks to a new fleet of response vehicles.
West Midlands Ambulance Service announced the launch of five new Mental Health Response Vehicles (MHRVs), which will provide enhanced assessment and care to mental health patients of all ages.
The vehicles are being hosted in Hollymoor, Coventry, Shrewsbury, Stoke-on-Trent and Worcester to provide first-line response to patients who are requiring an ambulance response due to a mental health concern.
Specialist mental health paramedics, who have received additional training in Mental Health Practice, will lead the service.
Student paramedics and technicians will have the opportunity to enhance their understanding and knowledge of managing mental health concerns by assisting the service.
Head of clinical practice for mental health, Richard Corrall, said: “This is an exciting new service for responding to calls relating to mental health.
“We recognise there is more we can do to support these patients and direct them to the most appropriate pathways.
“This represents a huge opportunity for the Trust to meet their needs and establish parity of esteem between physical and mental health needs.”
As this is a new addition to the service, ambulances will still attend Mental Health cases where necessary.
Mental health nurses working within the clinical validation team in the emergency operations centre, will also be available to support crews for further advice at the scene.
There is currently no planned MHRV provision for the Black Country hosted by the Trust, and Black Country Integrated Care Board will be launching their own service in the area in due course.
