Post by Logan on Jun 19, 2016 1:26:25 GMT -6
Even when police officers are trained to defuse a tense situation, finding a bed for someone having a mental health crisis remains a huge challenge in New Hampshire.
On Memorial Day, there were 61 people in hospital emergency departments in the Granite State awaiting a bed at the state psychiatric hospital, including 25 children, according to Ken Norton, executive director of the New Hampshire chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
"We broke our all-time record again," he said. "It's tragic."
In New Hampshire, someone in crisis can be sent to a designated "receiving facility" for up to 72 hours. After that, there has to be a probable cause hearing to determine whether the person has a mental illness and poses a danger to himself or others; if so, he can be held another seven days, according to Norton.
The problem is that there's often no place that can take these individuals
Read more: www.unionleader.com/Beds-are-scarce-at-states-psychiatric-hospital
On Memorial Day, there were 61 people in hospital emergency departments in the Granite State awaiting a bed at the state psychiatric hospital, including 25 children, according to Ken Norton, executive director of the New Hampshire chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
"We broke our all-time record again," he said. "It's tragic."
In New Hampshire, someone in crisis can be sent to a designated "receiving facility" for up to 72 hours. After that, there has to be a probable cause hearing to determine whether the person has a mental illness and poses a danger to himself or others; if so, he can be held another seven days, according to Norton.
The problem is that there's often no place that can take these individuals
Read more: www.unionleader.com/Beds-are-scarce-at-states-psychiatric-hospital