The just announced agreement between Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora and New Zealand Police not to go ahead and implement a 15-minute handover time when a person detained under the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 is brought into an emergency department by Police is welcome.
The two parties have now agreed on a universal 30-minute handover time.
Police had initially proposed a 15-minute handover time, which health professionals and Health New Zealand questioned. It is now been accepted by the parties that a universal 15-minute handover time would not be safe, feasible or sustainable.
A 60-minute handover time most recently operated and before that there was no set time limit.
Nurses Society of New Zealand director David Wills says while dropping the proposal for a 15-minute handover is good news, a 30-minute time limit may still be potentially problematic and unworkable.
During the current change programme Police data showed between May and July 2026 many handovers took longer than 60 minutes and that 50 percent were not completed within 30 minutes.
In other jurisdictions the agreed handover times are longer. For instance in the United Kingdom it is 60 minutes, and in Canada it ranges from 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the province.
Clearly, nurses and other health professionals do not want police officers unnecessarily involved in any clinical areas or in patient-facing situations. That said, police presence is appropriate in emergency departments from time to time, for the safety of patients, whānau and staff.
Radio interview with David Wills on the matter.
Details of the NZ Police mental health change programme here.
The just announced agreement between Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora and New Zealand Police not to go ahead and implement a 15-minute handover time when a person detained under the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 is brought into an emergency department by Police is welcome.
The two parties have now agreed on a universal 30-minute handover time.
Police had initially proposed a 15-minute handover time, which health professionals and Health New Zealand questioned. It is now been accepted by the parties that a universal 15-minute handover time would not be safe, feasible or sustainable.
A 60-minute handover time most recently operated and before that there was no set time limit.
Nurses Society of New Zealand director David Wills says while dropping the proposal for a 15-minute handover is good news, a 30-minute time limit may still be potentially problematic and unworkable.
During the current change programme Police data showed between May and July 2026 many handovers took longer than 60 minutes and that 50 percent were not completed within 30 minutes.
In other jurisdictions the agreed handover times are longer. For instance in the United Kingdom it is 60 minutes, and in Canada it ranges from 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the province.
Clearly, nurses and other health professionals do not want police officers unnecessarily involved in any clinical areas or in patient-facing situations. That said, police presence is appropriate in emergency departments from time to time, for the safety of patients, whānau and staff.
Radio interview with David Wills on the matter.
Details of the NZ Police mental health change programme here.