A special assessment centre could be built in Colchester where people found by police and sectioned under the Mental Health Act can be helped by professionals.
It would be created at the Lakes Mental Health Centre, Turner Road, and used as a dedicated place of safety for police to take people who have been sectioned.
Section 136 of the Act allows police to detain vulnerable individuals to prevent them from harming themselves or the public.
Now the Trust has applied to Colchester Council for permission to build the single-storey extension at the Lakes Mental Health Centre in the town.
A spokeswoman for the North Essex Mental Health NHS Trust said: "Currently in the Colchester and Tendring area, people detained in these situations are put in a police cell until they are assessed by a health professional.
"A purpose-built mental health assessment facility, however, would provide a short-term comfortable and secure place for those experiencing a mental health crisis," said the spokeswoman.
Published Thursday, March 7, 2002
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