The ACT Government will continue funding the second Police, Ambulance and Clinician Early Response (PACER) team, to provide better care and support for Canberrans suffering an acute mental health crisis.
The PACER program provides an integrated model of care, bringing together front-line service providers to support the safe assessment and treatment of people experiencing acute mental health crises in the ACT.
The PACER program minimises both avoidable hospital presentations and contact with the justice system for people with mental health conditions.
Since its inception in December 2019, PACER has attended 6,510 incidents.
Quotes attributable to ACT Chief Minister and Treasurer, Andrew Barr:
"The ACT Government is committed to providing appropriate mental health support to Canberrans, ensuring they can access care when and where they need it.
"This initiative builds on recent ACT Government funding initiatives, including the extension of the PACER program in the 2023-24 ACT Budget."
Quotes attributable to Minister for Mental Health, Emma Davidson:
"Canberrans deserve access to timely mental health support, in their homes and communities so they can live well during their recovery. Emergency departments can often exacerbate someone's emotional state, whether they are there for mental distress or physical illnesses.
"We know that our PACER program is having a demonstrable impact on both individual lives and our emergency systems. It has reduced emergency department presentations, with over 70 per cent of people PACER respond to receiving the support and care they need outside of the hospital.
"The people supported by PACER, their families, carers and the teams have provided feedback on how we can improve the program. The ACT Government will look in future to strengthen the PACER model of care to better support the wellbeing and mental health needs of Canberrans in a crisis, their family and carers."
Quotes attributable to Minister for Police & Crime Prevention and Minister for Fire & Emergency Services, Mick Gentleman:
"PACER brings together an appropriate team of experts to help Canberrans in their time of need for mental health support.
"The PACER program's ongoing impact in our community would not be possible without the hard work of our dedicated teams at ACT Ambulance Services, ACT Policing and Canberra Health Services."
