OPP mental health screening tool
[projekktor id=’12858′]
The Ontario Provincial Police have a new tool designed to help front line officers better care for people with a mental illness.
OPP Commissioner Vince Hawkes was part of a panel explaining a new form called the brief mental health screener. It’s streamlined to help officers take notes after a dealing with someone in mental distress. A professor from the University of Waterloo helped develop the form and has the support of the Canadian Mental Health Association. OPP didn’t have an example of the form to show us today — but they say that it will not only help officers and health professionals communicate better — but it could also help first responders better recognize someone in distress.
John Hirdes is from in University of Waterloo: “This isn’t just an intervention around creating a form for officers to fill out. It’s also an educational intervention. So, with it we’ll be teach officers what to look for with sign of mental illness and what they mean. So. I think you’ll be able to identify it sooner and change their approach to the person in a way that is better for managing someone with a mental illness.”
The form has been used as part of a pilot project with the Guelph police. The OPP says it will be used as soon as officers are properly trained.
