Almost 800 people in northern Tasmania have avoided hospital visits in the past year after being treated at home by a specialist mental health emergency team.
The PACER model brings together police, paramedics and mental health clinicians to respond to people in crisis, rather than taking them to an emergency department.
In its first 12 months in the north, the team attended more than 1,080 callouts.
About three-quarters of patients were treated in the community. The service operates from 1pm to 11pm, seven days a week.
Ambulance Tasmania chief executive Nicole Ashworth said the key was having the right mix of expertise on scene.
“The police and the paramedics offer something completely different to the mental health clinicians and it’s that direct access to that in-home service that we think makes a really wonderful difference,” she said.
Ashworth said people were able to receive treatment and referrals in their own homes, surrounded by family, rather than facing the stress of an emergency department.
Calls come through Triple Zero (000), with the team dispatched together. Paramedics already on the ground can also request a PACER unit.
Tasmania Police Inspector Aleena Crack said responding to mental health callouts was a regular part of the job, but officers on their own had limited options.
“Police alone are very limited in the options that we can provide to someone in crisis in the community and having experts and those with medical training really supports us,” she said.
Inspector Crack said the model also freed up police who would otherwise be waiting at hospital.
“There is a long and known relationship between mental health and crime within our community and if we can address any aspects of those, it’s going to be beneficial to all of us,” she said.
Group director of statewide mental health services Jarrod Bannon said the northern launch completed a statewide rollout that began in the south in 2022 and reached the north-west in 2023.
He described PACER as a contemporary model focused on reaching people where they are, rather than relying on hospital-based care.
In the north and south, the three-person crew travels together in a single unmarked vehicle. In the north-west, the agencies travel separately to callouts.
Ambulance Tasmania said it was exploring whether to bring the north-west model into line with the rest of the state.
