The Staff Sergeant of the Steinbach RCMP detachment welcomes a change in the Mental Health Act that took effect Saturday, June 1st. While police officers will still attend calls where people are having a mental health incident and will transport them to hospital, officers will no longer be required to supervise them as they wait to be seen by a health professional. Staff Sergeant Harold Laninga says in the past, officers have had to sit with patients in emergency rooms for up to 34 hours while they awaited treatment.

Staff Sergeant Harold Laninga"They (ERs) are busy places, we recognize that. But we're hoping now, we'll be able to turn the patients over. And I do think this is a health issue, not a police issue, so I think it's great that we can turn them over to somebody in a hospital where they can receive the care they need."

Initially, the change affects only hospitals in Winnipeg, Selkirk and Brandon but Laninga notes Steinbach RCMP transport patients to all those locations, depending on where care is available.

"We have had situations where we've had to guard a patient for up to 34 hours, so it' a constant turnover of officers being at a hospital to supervise. This change should free that up so I'm very excited about this and looking forward to have the same service here in Steinbach (at Bethesda Regional Health Centre)."

Laninga says while Steinbach RCMP will still be transporting mental health patients to care centres, the fact that officers don't have to stay in the waiting room with them, will enable the police to get back here sooner to resume their regular patrols.