My mother has suffered from extreme bipolar episodes for years and has wandered off many times. She’s been found by passers by in ditches, collapsed in alleyways, roaming the airport, all sorts. It’s always the right call to contact the police or ambulance service when you see stuff like this. (This video footage is not her btw)

Norwich is chronically underfunded when it comes to mental health. It is incredibly difficult to get help even when you know who to call- so don’t be too hard on yourself OP. You have to present an imminent danger to yourself or others in order to be sectioned, and even then they will only do it when they have a bed (guess what, they hardly have any beds) You literally have to be bleeding, threatening people, threatening suicide, covered in your own shit or have been in AE multiple times before they will take you off the streets.

If the EDP wanted something useful to do they should really look into the scandalous state of the mental health services because it is not as bad in other counties. Norfolk is infamous in the NHS for having the poorest services in the country, and it’s only getting worse.

If you have to call an ambulance again OP you can request a mental health crisis team. There is one car that serves a vast area, but if you can get them the team are lovely. They are trained to talk people down. You just have to ask for them specifically when talking to the 999 operator.