NORTH BATTLEFORD, Sask. — The province has announced funding of more than $360,000 for a second Police and Crisis Team (PACT) for the North Battleford area.
Community Safety Minister Michael Weger; North Battleford Mayor Kelli Hawtin; Battlefords RCMP Insp. Ryan How; Johann Engelke of the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA); Battlefords MLA and Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill; and Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie attended the announcement at North Battleford city hall Nov. 12.
Through PACT, mental health professionals and police officers work together to form a mobile team that helps de-escalate mental health crises.
"The goal of this collaborative initiative is to provide the right kind of care to people who are better served in the community, thereby avoiding emergency department visits and entry into the criminal justice system," the province said.
Cockrill said the announcement is an important initiative for the Battlefords.
"If you think about the services that are available to residents of the Battlefords who are really in their most vulnerable state, basically mental health or addictions crisis, what the PACT team does is pairing mental health professionals and police professionals, ensuring that we're giving the right response to people in those moments of crisis," he said. "It's obviously an access piece for patients, but it's also a resourcing piece as well for our police officers, ensuring that our police officers are spending less time waiting in an emergency room with a patient waiting for a mental health assessment. So they can be on the street more quickly protecting our community."
How said the PACT program is essential in dealing with mental health or addictions calls.
"The biggest advantage we find with the PACT program, in addition to their ability to recognize mental health problems, is they are able to speak the language and get that person into the secondary stream of health care, whether it's mental health or addictions or through the emergency room, the PACT worker is able to recognize what is needed," he said.
How said a second PACT team is needed so the teams can provide service around the clock.
"We'd like to maintain a standard of care around the clock," he said.
Hawtin welcomed the addition of the second PACT team to the Battlefords.
"This is a very welcome announcement today," she said. "The PACT team serves our community and our region very well. We've heard that from RCMP reports from Inspector How over the last number of years, being able to meet people where they are and get them the type of care that they need."
