NPT program considers expanding hours as police board requests mental health and addiction supports

Members of Windsor's nurse-police team are discussing an expansion of hours to better serve people experiencing substance use disorder and related challenges, according to Windsor Regional Hospital.

The NPT program, which launched May 12, sees nursing staff pair up with frontline police officers to meet vulnerable individuals where they are and provide on-site care. The goal is to help steer them away from the emergency room or criminal justice system.

Currently, the NPT program runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

According to the hospital's president and CEO, David Musyj, some staff members have discussed shifting hours later into the night.

"Our staff have come forward with those ideas to say, 'let's go a little later into the morning.' For the staff to say that, kudos to them. They know there's a need out there and they want to help," said Musyj.

During Thursday's meeting of the Windsor Police Services Board, the NPT program was described by Chief Jason Bellaire as "single-handedly the biggest movement we’ve had ... in a long time" in tackling the mental health and addictions crises.

A major point of discussion between board members was the need for existing service providers to "adjust the roles that they play in the community to better align with the needs that we see happening in the community," police board chief Drew Dilkens said.

The Canadian Mental Health Association's Windsor-Essex branch, for example, runs Monday to Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

"That's not where the demand is. So it's modifying that and looking at, maybe, providing the same services but just later into the evening hours," said Musyj.

The Windsor Police Services Board voted Thursday to alert upper levels of government of the need for federal and provincial partners to boost mental health resources and funding — following a motion from police board vice chair Jo-Anne Gignac.

"We're looking for partners that want to want to contribute and want to be part of the solution," said Bellaire during Thursday's meeting.

The first three months of 2023 saw 31 deaths which are suspected to be connected to substance abuse in Windsor-Essex, according to the local health unit.

Windsor's police chief added the force recently began stationing an officer in the hospital’s emergency departments.

"Our average wait time for a mental health handoff was averaging somewhere between three-and-a-half to 11 hours," said Bellaire. "With the police officer inside the hospital, we're down to under 30 minutes."