Using DASH (Diagnostic Assessment and Stabilization Hub) for people in a mental health crisis is a good resource and relieves the police from intervening in a situation that is not their area of expertise [“Police And Mental Health Professionals Collaborate On Telehealth Response Pilot Program,” 27east.com, January 25].
However, it seems remiss to not have psychiatric professionals available in hospitals other than Stony Brook University Hospital. Even if other hospitals in Suffolk County had psychiatrists that could be called in for emergencies, as they surely do with other specialists, it would be an improvement over telephone diagnosis such as DASH offers.
If I had a broken bone, I wouldn’t want to rely on a phone consult with an orthopedist.
This lack of psychiatric services says a lot about how mental health issues are undervalued and under-resourced in this county.
Linda Slezak
Hampton Bays
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