Mental health response vehicles introduced

The five response vehicles will be crewed by paramedics with additional training in mental health practice, West Midlands Ambulance Service say

Dedicated vehicles which will be used to respond to mental health emergencies have been introduced.

Paramedics with additional training in mental health practice will be used to staff the five vehicles, said West Midlands Ambulance Service.

The aim was to get to mental health patients more quickly and support them in their place of crisis, the service added.

The ambulances will be based in Coventry, Hollymoor, Shrewsbury, Stoke-on-Trent and Worcester.

'More we can do'

"We recognise there is more we can do to support these patients and direct them to the most appropriate pathways," head of clinical practice for mental health, Richard Corrall said.

The crews would be responding to emergency calls ranging from anxiety, distress and depression to thoughts of self-harm and suicide.

Alongside each specialist paramedic would be a student paramedic or technician, to improve their knowledge of caring for someone with mental ill-health.

The ambulance service said it was not providing a mental health response vehicle in the Black Country, as Black Country Integrated Care Board was set to launch its own service.

Ambulances would also still attend mental health cases where necessary, as the response service was new, it added.