Mental Health Campaigners in Queensland are of the opinion that the Police have become the frontline of mental health services due to the inadequacy of prevalent services
Mental Health Campaigners in Queensland are of the opinion that the Police have become the frontline of mental health services due to the inadequacy of prevalent services and support mechanisms amongst the community.
This public comment follows close on the heels of an incident, where police shot dead a mentally ill person in West of Brisbane. "What we see is that an inadequate mental health system means that the police become the frontline of mental health services," Mr Cheverton said. Mr Cheverton has expressed sympathies along with an urgent need for appropriate protocols and increased funding in order to facilitate better service.The Association of Friends and Relatives of the Mentally Ill has said that though both Queensland Health and police last year seconded novel recommendations for improved procedures to deal with the mentally ill, they are yet to be implemented.
It is uniform opinion that people with mental health illness need a different approach in their treatment and cannot be dealt the way normal illnesses are. The police have said that this is perhaps the fourth shooting incident in Queensland that involves a mentally deranged person.
