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Statewide statistics provided by the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal (MHRT) 6 suggest that transport by police (under s. 22 of the Mental Health Act) has remained stable, at about 20% of all presentations to DMHFs. In contrast, transport by paramedics (under s. 20) has increased to 6%(Box). These data do not include transport by police under other sections of the Act. The Ambulance Service of NSW has estimated that of all occasions of transporting people affected by mental illness in an ambulance, only about 2% per year involve involuntary transport (personal communication, Kevin McLaughlin, Manager Mental Health, Ambulance Service of NSW). This low scheduling rate may reflect NSW Ambulance policy that decisions undertaken by paramedics to transport a person against his or her will should be viewed as an option of last resort. Further, it may reflect people’s preference to be taken to the nearest health facility that has the resources to provide care, which may not necessarily be a DMHF if people agree to be transported voluntarily.

The NSW Police Force estimated that they responded to about 34000 mental health-related incidents statewide in 2009. 7 In 2012, there were 38534 such incidents, with about two-thirds resulting in a designated police function under the Mental Health Act (eg, transfer from court, interhospital transport) and including about 12000 occasions of police detaining people under s. 22 (data obtained by MI). In the 6 months to May 2013, police detained 6149 people under s. 22 of the Mental Health Act across NSW, according to the NSW Police database (Computerised Operational Policing System [COPS]; data …