Ambulances targeting mental health patients could help them get to a hospital more humanely and with less confrontation Fewer patients required restraints during ambulance transport than when taken by police Aggressive events were similarly low between ambulance and police FRIDAY, May 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Ambulances meant for people having a crisis could help folks get the care they need with less confrontation and friction, a new study says. People transported to the hospital by a “psychiatric ambulance” required fewer restraints or coercive measures than those transported by the police, according to results from an Amsterdam program. In 2014, Amsterdam introduced a psychiatric ambulance service operated by a trained driver and a psychiatric nurse.
It looks just the same as a typical ambulance, but inside it’s stripped of visible medical equipment to create a more tranquil environment. Patients can sit upright or lay on a stretcher, with a soft Velcro restraint or sedative medication available as needed. Researchers compared nearly 500 police transports in the four months prior to introduction of the psychiatric ambulance, and more than 650 ambulance transports that occurred within six months after the service started.
They found stark differences when it came to the use of restraints: 86% of people transported by ambulance were not restrained, compared with 57% of those transported by police. 42% of people transported by police were handcuffed, compared to les.
