Bob Chiarelli proposes a list of health professionals to improve police responses to mental health calls

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Mayoral candidate Bob Chiarelli is proposing changes to the way the Ottawa Police Service handles mental health calls.

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Chiarelli, who was previously mayor of Ottawa from 2001 to 2006 and served as a Liberal MP for Queen’s Park, told this paper’s editorial board on Monday that he wanted the Royal Ottawa Hospital to partner with the police.

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“I think the system hasn’t served us well when there are welfare calls to 911,” Chiarelli said. “The current situation needs to be significantly improved for the safety of both the police and those involved in the dangerous situations for which the police are called.”

Chiarelli said his proposal would involve the creation of a group of mental health professionals who would handle emergency calls alongside the police.

“I proposed that we create a partnership between the Ottawa Police Service and the Royal Ottawa Hospital whereby the ROH puts together a list of perhaps 10 to 15 mental health professionals who can be called upon to join the police response,” he said. . “The mental health professional(s) on the list (would be) available at the time of the call. We put on a vest to clearly identify them and head to the scene of the accident. Protocols would have been developed for how the team handles often dangerous situations.”

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PAHO already has a mental health unit. It has existed for more than 20 years. Its officers work with Ottawa Hospital mental health nurses to care for homes where people are known to have had mental health emergencies in the past. they link members of the public with community resources and support systems, during and after a crisis, according to PAHO.

When asked about the feasibility of having mental health professionals available during a health care worker shortage, Chiarelli pointed to Toronto, which has already begun sending nurses and mental health professionals to some calls for people in crisis, and said it has worked with RCMP in a “city”. in the north.” “INo new terrain is being created here. It has been done,” he said.

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Chiarelli said he had consulted with former police chiefs. “I want to say that this was done with some consultation and not just on my part,” he said.

The Royal Ottawa Hospital did not respond to a request for comment.

Abdirahman Abdi, a 37-year-old Somali Canadian with a history of mental health problems, died in 2016 after being violently arrested by Ottawa police. His death prompted calls for the police to change the way police respond to calls related to mental illness and people in crisis.

PAHO responds to thousands of mental health calls each year, the according to a document delivered to the police board last year. The service had been developing a mental health response strategy together with mental health and addictions professionals and community organizations to improve outcomes for people with mental health problems.

Mayoral candidate Mark Sutcliffe has pledged to serve on the Ottawa Police Services Board and ensure that all regions of Ottawa are represented on the board. But Chiarelli told this newspaper that he would not sit on the board. “My feeling is that there should be some independence between the senior political person,” he said.