There are fresh calls for the Government to fund front line mental health.
This comes after mental health experts met in Wellington this week for a summit to discuss specific funding for staff to be on the front line with police.
People with severe mental health issues stopped being taken to police cells in 2015, in favour of ED because they are not criminals.
However, health professionals worry about the long-term impact on staff.
The recent Budget focused on mental health included multi-million-dollar investments in psychiatric nurses, inpatient facilities and improved access to primary care.
An additional, $8 million is set to improve the mental health response at emergency departments. But there was no specific funding for staff to be on the front line with police.
In most cases, police are the first on the scene when responding to mental health call-outs, including attempted suicides.
Police are trained to respond but not to manage or assess patients for their mental health.
"There aren't support services available after hours, after that nine to five for us to take people too, so EDs are the fall back,” Senior Sergeant Matt Morris told 1 NEWS.
There’s hope this wellbeing budget will bring improvements.
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