EXCLUSIVE: Officers in Glasgow being pulled from streets to respond to mental health calls

We've been getting exclusive access to a team in Govan.

Author: Callum McQuadePublished 26th Nov 2024
Last updated 26th Nov 2024

Officers working the beat in the Southside of Glasgow are facing lengthy waits in A&E departments instead of patrolling the streets tackling crime.

Our Senior Reporter Callum McQuade spent the night getting exclusive access to a crew spending up to ten hours with mental health patients.

The first job during the shift involved going to help a 52-year-old man who had been drinking heavily and was considering taking his own life.

"They would treat him as a medical patient"

Police Constable Omar Shiekh said: "If we were to go to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital right now then they would treat him as a medical patient before his mental health would be assessed.

"It would take hours before he gets triaged - he would get his bloods taken because he has been taking medication and then there is a wait for that test to come back."

Omar Shiekh has over 23 years of service in the force.

Omar added: "This whole process would take between 4 to 5 hours and only then would we get to see the doctor."

Police Scotland is seeing a rising number of calls from people who are thinking about taking their own life.

"Mistakes could be made"

Crews responding to these callouts can't leave the patient until they've been assessed by a mental health professional.

Sergeant Chris Daly has over 15 years of service and says they often have to draft in officers from other parts of the city to respond to assaults and house break-ins.

"We are not experts in this and we are relying on other organisations to step in and take that role off of us.

"Mistakes could be made, cops could say the wrong thing and it is not through any malice, it is because they are trying to do the right thing and say the right thing.

"These situations can be traumatising for everyone involved and the officers have to show professionalism and compassion.

"Some of these calls don't have a happy ending, unfortunately."

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