Policing and Mental Health Demands

– in the Scottish Parliament at on 18 January 2018.

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Photo of Jenny Marra Jenny Marra Labour

Last week, Chief Superintendent Paul Anderson said that mental health demands are the greatest challenge facing his officers in the city of Dundee. Does the First Minister agree with me that the time has now come for a mental health accident and emergency facility, open seven days a week—including over the weekend—with access to specialist nurses, doctors and counsellors, to open in Dundee and in other places across Scotland that desperately need such facilities?

Photo of Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Sturgeon Scottish National Party

Broadly speaking, yes, I do agree. Indeed, one of the factors behind the future strategy for policing in Scotland is about the changing nature of demand. Certainly, when I speak to senior police officers, they often talk about the mental health issue and the additional demands that it is putting on the police. It is also why, last year, I announced, through our mental health strategy, additional funding to have mental health workers in places such as police stations and prisons, as I recognise that there is often a need for mental health support across a range of different settings.

These are issues that are being looked at through our mental health strategy and they are issues that I hope will attract cross-party support from right across the chamber.