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Mental illness touches many lives.
Nearly one in five Victorians experience mental illness each year.
While many people successfully manage, or recover from, mental
illness, there can be times when a person is so acutely unwell they
may become a risk to themselves or others. This is a mental health
crisis.
This audit assessed the coordination, preparation, and
effectiveness of police, ambulance and mental health triage and
Crisis Assessment and Treatment (CAT)service responses to mental
health crises. As such, the audit did not examine the broader
mental health service system. It examined the Department of Health,
four Area Mental Health Services, Victoria Police and Ambulance
Victoria to assess whether:
- agency responses to mental health crises are coordinated
- agencies are adequately prepared to respond to mental health
crises, and respond appropriately
- agencies can show the effectiveness of their responses to
mental health crises.
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