A SPECIALIST mental health detention suite is saving Bolton police up to 400 hours of officers’ time every month, it has been claimed.

Bolton has been a pioneer for handling people detained under the suspicion that they have mental health problems, according to PC Paul Nickeass, a mental health liaison officer in the town.

Since February, rather than patients being taken to an A&E ward and waiting hours to be seen, they have been taken to The Elm Suite at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

Officers have been able to hand over patients to medical experts straight away, rather than waiting for up to 12 hours guarding them on an A&E ward.

PC Paul Nickeass, a mental health liaison officer based in Bolton, said: “We are ahead of the game in Bolton.

“We have been up and running since January this year at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

“We want to keep people out of A&E and custody cells. We have not had a single case of police officers taking patients to A&E wards since this has been brought in.

“Instead they drop them straight off at The Elm Suite and they are cared for by medical professionals straight away.”

A new triage phone system was launched across Greater Manchester Police on October 9 at a special mental health summit, involving police and the NHS.

This will give all officers a number to ring when they come across someone they suspect may have mental health problems.

Police can then get immediate advice on whether the individual is mentally ill or not.

PC Nickeass added: “When officers had to wait with people as they waited for assessments, it made the patients look like criminals. We are also saving 300-400 officers time every month, just in Bolton.

“The amount of time it would save across Greater Manchester would be great. In Bolton it has streamlined the system for police but also has seen these people get better care.”

Tony Lloyd, police and crime commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: “This idea that the police can get immediate professional advice is fantastic.

“Police officers are not medical health experts and need to be able to guarantee that what they do has the least risk attached as is possible.

“This is better for the community, better for the individual in terms of the treatment they get and is saving police resources.

“It is a win-win situation.”