West Midlands Ambulance Service launch Mental Health Response Vehicles
West Midlands Ambulance Service has today launched five new Mental Health Response Vehicles (MHRVs) with one located in Shrewsbury.
The vehicles are part of a new, first-line response service to attend to patients who require an ambulance response, where the primary complaint is a mental health concern.
They will be staffed by Specialist Mental Health Paramedics, who have received additional training in Mental Health Practice, and either a Student Paramedic or Technician who will have the opportunity to enhance their understanding and knowledge of managing mental health presentations.
The five new MHRVs are hosted at Shrewsbury, Coventry, Hollymoor, Stoke-on-Trent and Worcester.
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.
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.
