Update on our partnership with Windsor Regional Hospital
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Windsor Police Service News Update July 26, 2023 |
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PUBLIC NEWS UPDATE
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Update on our partnership with Windsor Regional Hospital
The Windsor Police Service is excited to share an important update on our ongoing partnership with the team at Windsor Regional Hospital to help our city’s vulnerable population. In January 2023, our teams came together to launch a pilot project with the goal of reducing the amount of time police officers are required to spend at the hospital with individuals in crisis. Officers would regularly spend several hours at the hospital monitoring a person in crisis until health care personnel would be available to receive transfer of care of the individual.
Today, officer transfer times at Windsor Regional Hospital are averaging just 22 minutes – down from the approximate 3-11 hour wait time prior to the launch of this initiative. Officers are back on the street much more quickly to respond to other urgent calls.
While originally scheduled for three months, this pilot project was extended for an additional 90 days this past April. After assessing the clear benefits and reduction in transfer-of-care times, we are proud to share this pilot project will once again be extended. At the same time, other regions across the province have taken notice of this initiative and are interested in creating their own. We are working collaboratively with our local and provincial partners to secure sustained long-term funding for this vital project.
We are also proud to share that our Nurse Police Teams (NPTs), who focus the majority of their attention on individuals struggling with substance use, continue to have a tremendously positive impact. Since the start of the NPT pilot project this past May, the NPT has seen some 283 persons on the street for 11 weeks working three days a week. The hours of operation started at 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and now have shifted to 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. based on the NPT members’ assessment of community needs.
“We have been able to determine that the individuals being seen by the NPT program have reduced their use of the Windsor Regional Hospital Ouellette Campus emergency department by 30% since they were seen by NPT as compared to the number of their visits before the program started,” said Kristen Scott, Director, Emergency Services.
By seeing and treating these individuals where they live, we are more effectively providing them with access and referrals to needed services and reducing the overall strain on emergency room resources.
WPS and WRH are looking to expand NPT to other times and areas of need.
“The impact of this partnership has been beneficial to our community in multiple ways. This really is a ‘made-in-Windsor’ solution, but we have received enquiries from other police services and hospitals across the province who are looking at these strategies as potential models to examine and possibly implement in their own cities,” said Police Chief Jason Bellaire.
Stay tuned for additional updates on this partnership in the coming weeks.
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For further information:
Contact the WPS Corporate Communication Unit's Public Information Officer at (519) 255-6700 ext. 4462. Content posted by:
Constable Bianca Jackson
Corporate Communications Unit
Windsor Police Service - Headquarters
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Office: (519) 255-6700 ext. 4462
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