DORSET Police used a police vehicle to transport people detained for mental health reasons to safety on hundreds of occasions last year – despite official rules advising against it.

The Government has set out plans to reform the 40-year-old Mental Health Act, which include ending the use of police cells to hold someone experiencing a crisis and ensuring people detained under police powers are taken to safety in an ambulance.

The Act currently allows police to remove someone to a place of safety for up to 72 hours if they appear to be suffering from mental health problems and need immediate care, or if they are a risk to themselves or others.

Current guidance states patients must be taken to hospital or another health facility via ambulance in all but "exceptional" circumstances.

Home Office data shows 287 detentions involved someone being taken away in a police vehicle in 2019-20.

Of those, the largest number (121) occurred because an ambulance was unavailable within half an hour, while there was risk of harm due to the person's behaviour on 101 occasions, and an ambulance was not requested by officers in 52 cases.

Transportation in police vehicles accounted for 45 per cent of the total 640 detentions carried out over the period.

Across England and Wales, 15,300 people detained under the Mental Health Act were taken to safety in a police vehicle last year, while 159 were held at a police station.

A new Government white paper, which lays out the sweeping proposals to reform and update the Act, says the use of police vehicles to transport detained people in a crisis "risks making patients feel that they are being criminalised for their mental health".

Ministers have pledged to improve ambulance provision for urgent mental health cases and amend the act to remove police stations as designated places of safety by 2024.

They are among the many proposed changes aimed at tackling inequalities, ensuring powers are used in the least restrictive way and bringing parity between mental and physical health services.

Matthew Scott, mental health lead at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, welcomed the proposals.

He said: "Vulnerable people need the right care from the right person at the right time; and police officers are not mental health professionals.

"Patients should be conveyed to places of safety by ambulance, not in the back of a police car. Perhaps more importantly, we need to see more investment in community-based mental health support services which prevent people from reaching a mental health crisis in the first place."

He added the amendments would lead to officers having more time to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs: "The new Act will ensure patients are put at the centre of decisions about their own care, that everyone is treated with respect and the law is only used to compel treatment where absolutely necessary."

Mental health charity Mind said it is "just the beginning of what is now a long overdue process".

Sophie Corlett, Mind's director of external relations, said “as many people as possible with experience of mental health problems” should now take part in the public consultation process, which is due to run until April.

Police Inspector Neil Wood, of Dorset Police, said: “When officers attend an incident where an individual is experiencing a mental health crisis, the welfare of that person is at the forefront of any actions that are taken.

“In the first instance, Dorset Police will try to call for an ambulance to take the individual to a place of safety. However, when an ambulance is not available and the person is in distress, officers will use a police vehicle to transport the individual.

“Using a police vehicle is a last resort, but we must consider the welfare of the individual and if they are in distress and in immediate need of medical assistance it is vitally important that we ensure they get the help they need as soon as possible.

“In some circumstances police may need to assist with transporting a person detained for mental health reasons because they are acting aggressively or need to be restrained.

“This is a complex matter and officers will make a decision based on each individual situation. Our priority is to look after the person detained and to preserve their welfare.

“Dorset Police is committed to following any plans set out by the Government to reform the Mental Health Act.”