CAT/OP/NZL/1/Add.1 75. In 2013, Police established a mental health intervention team to improve the overall Police response to people with mental illness. A significant work stream for the project is to provide mental health training to all frontline staff, including staff working in custody centres, with training to start by July 2014. Training will cover technical aspects of law, policy and recording standards. Attendees will learn to recognise basic signs and symptoms of mental illness, and respond appropriately, including access to support services. 76. The mental health intervention team project is developing a referral system for people with mental illness who come into contact with Police. This will include promoting the need for referral and providing contacts at a local level. Mental health nurse support 77. The Ministry of Health has a close working relationship with the New Zealand Police, which is mirrored at DHB and Police district level. The Ministry requires DHBs to look at ways in which they can effectively support Police in managing people with mental health problems, in ways that reflect local needs and resources. All DHBs provide advice and assistance to their local Police, and some DHBs provide nurses in Police watchhouses on a full-time or part-time basis, depending on need. 78. Four police custody centres have mental health nurse support. Evaluation of the nurses in custody centres initiative has been positive. Police are looking to expand this initiative. Corrections facilities 79. Corrections are working closely with the Ministry of Health and Regional Forensic Mental Health Services to improve access for prisoners to mental health facilities. Waiting lists for beds have improved significantly over the last five years. Corrections health centres are accredited by the New Zealand College of General Practitioners under its Cornerstone accreditation programme. This process involves external assessors spending time in prison health centres reviewing every aspect of service delivery. 80. As part of the redevelopment of Auckland Prison, Corrections has worked with forensic experts to develop a new operating model for mental health care in prisons that will mitigate the need to transfer prisoners to inpatient care. The new model will be in place in 2017. 81. Corrections opened the High Dependency Unit at Rimutaka Prison in December 2012. The unit is designed to support prisoners who require additional support in prison due to their physical or cognitive functioning, including aging prisoners. The 20-bed unit will be expanded to 30 beds by mid-2014. In addition, work is underway to develop a plan for supporting aged prisoners along the continuum of health needs. The plan will be completed in 2014. 82. The mental health intervention team project will improve collaboration between Police and mental health services. The goal is to increase access to mental health services for all detainees. 83. The Ministry of Health is working with Corrections and Waitemata DHB to develop new models of care within prisons. This work will increase the options for earlier and alternative management of prisoners with mental health needs to reduce the requirement for admission to hospital and potentially enable an earlier discharge to prison. This also involves working with Corrections to facilitate forensic mental health services’ access to prisons. 15