North Bay police often forced to spend hours in hospitals for mental-health patient handovers
North Bay police Chief Daryl Longworth is hoping to meet with the city hospital’s CEO to discuss ways of streamlining the handover of mental-health patients.
At the police services board meeting Tuesday morning, Longworth said police spent more than 260 hours in two months at the North Bay Regional Health Centre waiting to transfer mental-health patients apprehended by police.
“We have a wonderful mental-health response through the police service here where we're partnered with mental health workers and nursing staff that work with and partner with our officers,” Longworth said.
Statistics showed that officers spent 117 hours at the hospital in January and 151 hours in February. That creates staffing problems on the ground, he said.
“The number of officers we have on the street is significantly diminished when we have to have officers tied up at the hospital,” he said.
“It's part of the Mental Health Act, which requires (police) to be there until they're accepted by the hospital.”
He’s hoping to meet with hospital CEO Paul Heinrich to discuss the matter.
“So it's just a conversation to see how we can speed up the process at both ends to get our officers back on the street,” Longworth said.
“My intention is to meet the CEO because I'm new here. There's a number of people in the organization and the community I'd like to meet and the CEO of the hospital is certainly one.”
Longworth added he would like to see a more streamlined process to make better use of both hospital of police resources.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Happy tears' of victim's sister after prison attack on serial killer Robert Pickton
Cynthia Cardinal said she was 'overwhelmed' with happiness when she received a text message on Monday with the news that serial killer Robert Pickton, who murdered her sister, was attacked in prison. She called it 'karma.'
DEVELOPING Republican National Committee in Washington evacuated after blood vials received in package
The headquarters of the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C., was briefly evacuated on Wednesday morning after a suspicious package containing two vials of blood was delivered to the building, the police said.
Fish oil supplements may raise risk of stroke, heart issues, study suggests
As an excellent source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, daily fish oil supplements are a popular way to keep the risk of cardiovascular disease at bay.
Woman found dead in Lake Ontario in 2017 matches identity of missing person in Switzerland
Genetic genealogy has helped Toronto police identify a woman who was found dead in Lake Ontario in 2017.
Montreal photographer captures dramatic Canada goose vs. fox fight on video
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Interpol says more than 1,500 stolen Canadian vehicles identified since February
Interpol says more than 200 stolen Canadian vehicles have been found each week across the globe since February.
Thunderstorms with tornado risk in some areas in Ontario, snow elsewhere in Canada
Canadians can expect a mixed bag of weather, with forecasts warning of thunderstorms, heavy rain and snow in some areas across western Canada.
opinion Biden steals debate issue from Trump campaign, makes it his own
Donald Trump had spent weeks needling U.S. President Joe Biden for his refusal to commit to a debate. But Washington political columnist Eric Ham describes how in one fell swoop, Biden ingeniously stole the issue from the Trump campaign and made it his own.
'All hell broke loose': Passengers on Singapore Airlines flight describe nightmare at 37,000 feet
Passengers on a Singapore Airlines flight hit by severe turbulence on Tuesday described a sudden, dramatic drop as 'all hell broke loose' on board the Boeing airliner carrying 229 passengers and crew.