Initially established as a pilot in 2020, the CRT brings together staff from Wellington District Police, Wellington Free Ambulance and MHAIDS, offering support to people in mental distress from a wider range of specialists. Staff from the three different organisations within the CRT are dispatched to both Police and Ambulance emergency mental health callouts in the same vehicle.
Expanding the CRT service and enhancing its role within community mental health and addiction service crisis response, is a key part of the Mental Health and Addiction Change Programme, and aligns with its vision to provide more timely care closer to where people live in their communities.
Feedback from tāngata whaiora and whānau who have used CRT has been positive, with the warm, consistent, and professional response from all staff seen as a key factor in its success.
The initiative has also attracted positive national media attention, and an independent evaluation conducted by the University of Otago in 2020 identified a range of benefits, including:
Reduction in the use of powers under the Mental Health Act
Resolving matters at point of contact, including provision of a wrap-around service
Referring tāngata whaiora and whānau to pathways outside of direct transport to a Police station or Emergency Department
Reduced Emergency Department service utilisation
The study supported the continued implementation of CRT and recommended that the model was adopted nationally.
MHAIDS submitted a briefing paper to Te Whatu Ora for increased co-response resourcing under the 2022 national budget, and recently secured additional funding for 3.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff:
Recruiting to these roles has progressed and will have a range of benefits, such as extending service coverage for CRT across the district (Wellington, Porirua, Hutt Valley and Kāpiti) and up to seven days a week, from 8am-8pm. The addition of an allied health professional working with agencies focusing on reducing mental distress caused by family harm will extend the multi-agency and systemic way of working which has been successful for CRT.
The additional team members, in particular the Kaiawhina will also help ensure CRT responds in a way than meets the needs of Māori whānau, and improve linkages with key social service agencies that support Māori whānau in the Wellington rohe.
