Victoria police's chief on Friday (Sept. 13) called for changes that would aim to reduce the time police officers spend at local hospitals after apprehending individuals through the Mental Health Act. 

Chief Del Manak told reporters he's concerned officers spend longer amounts away from their other front-line duties as they wait for mental health patients to be transferred into hospital care. 

"The final outcome that I'd like to see is police officers tied up at the hospital for the least amount of time," he said.

Victoria police and Island Health are currently engaged in a working group focused on streamlining the handover process. Island Health official Marko Peljhan said Friday that changes could come within weeks.  

Peljhan, vice-president of clinical services for the Central and South Island, said they value the partnership with VicPD as they provide care for some of the most vulnerable patients. He noted transfer times are impacted by Royal Jubilee Hospital's emergency room being a busy department that must triage the sickest people into care first. 

"Despite that, we are really focusing on how we could do that handover process in a safe matter, respecting our patient's safety and the dignity of everyone else that's in the department," Peljhan said. 

Manak emphasized healthcare staff and hospital mental health professionals are doing great work, but he's seeing rising average wait times for officers. That average time has been around two hours and twenty minutes in recent months after being below two hours last year, he said. 

"The system needs an overhaul; I think there's a recognition by everybody that needs to happen. But the area that impacts me as a police chief is allowing officers to be redeployed and also providing a better quality of care for individuals that were apprehended on their worst moment, on their worst day," Manak said. 

One solution that may alleviate the issue is granting hospital security guards special constable status so they handle patient transfers, Manak said, noting he believes the province is already looking into the idea. Asked about whether such a move would require more training for security guards, the police chief said they would likely need more guidance on de-escalation and keeping both staff and patients safe when dealing with someone who could potentially become violent.  

He was also asked about the timing of such a call given a coroners inquiry is currently looking into the death of mental health patient in 2019 at Royal Jubilee Hospital. The inquest has heard there was an interaction between the patient and the security. Manak said the recommendations coming from the inquest will be important for shining a spotlight on areas of improvement. 

The Ministry of Public Safety said on Friday afternoon it was working on a response after Black Press Media asked about the police chief's calls.