E tū is calling on Health New Zealand to reject a police plan to cut the maximum time officers stay with mental health patients at emergency departments from 60 minutes to just 15, warning it will dump the risk onto hospital security officers and other frontline workers.
The union has written to Health New Zealand Chief Executive Dale Bramley urging him to stop the implementation of phase four of the Police Mental Health Response Change Programme. Under the change, police who bring a person to an emergency department under the Mental Health Act would hand over to health staff and leave within 15 minutes.
Police have been progressively pulling back from mental health callouts since late 2024, and phase four was put on hold in April after concerns from across the health sector. It is now back on the table.
Hospital security officer and E tū member Turangawaewae Rongo says the change shifts the problem onto hospitals.
“It’s putting the responsibility back onto Te Whatu Ora, at the risk of police wiping their hands clean and leaving whatever problems they bring into the hospital itself,” Turangawaewae says.
He says the presence of police is often what keeps high-risk patients calm.
“Police know the regulars they bring in. Often the police presence alone is enough to ensure a patient stays calm. My concern is that with the reduced time, some distressed patients will become unmanageable as soon as the police leave,” Turangawaewae says.
“Then there could be a delay in police coming back, based on what they saw when they were with the person. They leave thinking everything is fine, so when we call them back, they aren’t quick to come back. That’s the biggest concern.”
He says workers feel the decision has not been thought through.
“The way I see it, this is a risk the police are willing to take. But this is a serious health and safety issue. Everything we’ve worked on within the hospital has always come down to chance or luck. I don’t want to be sitting at a hospital wondering when our luck’s going to run out.”
Turangawaewae says security teams are already running short. “We’re constantly sitting in the red when we shouldn’t have to be. It’s about what we should have, not the bare minimum we can get away with.”
E tū Director for Public Hospitals Finn O’Dwyer-Cunliffe says the withdrawal shifts risk onto workers who have none of the powers or resources needed to manage it.
“Security officers are not police. They don’t have the same powers, training, staffing, or backup, yet they’re the ones expected to step in when someone in acute distress turns violent,” Finn says.
“Our security members are the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. Police and health ministers know that, and they seem willing to take the risk and see what happens.
“Health New Zealand must reject phase four until there are proper safety assessments, national procedures, enough security staff, real training, and independent evidence that nobody will be put at greater risk.
“When police walk out after 15 minutes, the risk doesn’t walk out with them. It stays in the emergency department and falls on some of the lowest-paid workers in the health system. This is a nightmare waiting to happen, and it’s a choice the Government has made.”
