Seeing the benefits of working together for people with mental health and hearing from Thornbury Town councillors

Posted at 15:54 on 1st April 2025 in Announcements

A collage of images of Clare meeting people including councillors and service delivery providers

Last Friday I spent part of my day in South Gloucestershire visiting an award-winning Mental Health Triage service centre based in the area, meeting with Thornbury town councillors and the Neighbourhood Police Team at Thornbury police station to understand community safety and policing concerns in the area.

Meeting the services supporting people in mental health crisis

The Mental Health Integrated Access Partnership (IAP) is an innovative collaboration between BrisDoc Healthcare Services, Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Foundation Trust and South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust – as well as Avon and Somerset Police, Avon Fire and Rescue, and voluntary sector organisations. It provides an integrated front door service for urgent and emergency mental health care for people in crisis, across both 999 and 111.

Rhys Hancock – BrisDoc Director of Nursing, showed us around the centre and talked with passion about the service they deliver, which is there for people at a time when they can often be very vulnerable.

The IAP team is made up of registered and non-registered professionals, who work in rotation across a number of services, providing both remote and face-to-face mental health triage, assessment and care for patients where emergency services are called. They also provide clinical support and advice to emergency service professionals who may be at the scene or have an ongoing incident they are managing. The Mental Health Specialist Service Desk has been crucial in reducing unnecessary police attendance to mental health incidents.

It was good to see services working together in practice, to hear the benefits and to hear how the triage has evolved since a pilot led by the force in 2016.

R-L Jo-Hayward-Melen – Staff Officer, Rhys Hancock – BrisDoc Director of Nursing (co-lead IAP), Carl Watkins the service manager, Neil Turney – BNSSG lead commissioner / Head of Mental Health and Charlotte Stone- Senior Commissioning and Policy Officer OPCC, pictured with Clare

Hearing from the Thornbury Neighbourhood Police Team and Thornbury Town Councillors

I visited the Thornbury police station to meet officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team where we discussed Neighbourhood Policing funding, staffing levels and summer demand. I was made aware that burglary is one of the biggest crime issues in the area. I assured officers, Avon and Somerset police will recruit about 70 officers into the Neighbourhood Teams, and that Strengthening Neighbourhood policing is one of my Police and Crime Plan priorities.

Following this, I met with Thornbury Town Councillors, where we discussed road safety (especially car speeding on the high street) and community safety issues. I encouraged Councillors to set up a Community Speed Watch group to monitor speeding on the high street. Councillors raised concerns that with new housing developments in the area, Thornbury is experiencing an increase in population. Although this is welcome, the area will require more police officers and visibility. These new residents bring younger people to the town, with increased need for provision for young people.

I was pleased to hear that in responding to the changing environment, the Town Council has identified young people as one of its top priorities, and this is reflected in increased investment in youth services and prioritising youth resources within their capital strategy. With the levels of Serious Youth Violence across the force area, having such forward-thinking youth provision and support is crucial.

I ended the day taking part in a media interview for the Politics West programme on BCC Points West which you can access here – it was aired on the 30 March 2025.