- Written by Matthew Hill & Harriet Robinson
- BBC News, West of England
Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor says prisoners are suffering while waiting for hospital beds.
Prisoners with severe mental illnesses wait too long for hospital treatment, the chief inspector of prisons says.
new report According to , inmates wait an average of 85 days before being sent to a hospital, with the longest wait time being 462 days and the baseline being 28 days.
The incident comes a year after an inspection found the mental health unit at a prison near Bristol resembled a “Victorian asylum”.
The NHS and the Ministry of Justice have been contacted for comment.
Charlie Taylor, Britain’s chief inspector of prisons, said: “These are people who should not be in prison. They should be hospitalized because they are too ill to be in prison.”
A lack of available beds is partly to blame for the backlog.
During a visit to HMP Eastwood Park, north of Bristol, in 2022, Ms Taylor said: ‘There were bloodstains on the floor and scratches on the walls – evidence of the level of suffering of the women held there. ” he said he witnessed it.
Women at Eastwood Park were previously found to be in ‘extreme distress’, but improvements have since been made.
Also, without proper training, staff were unable to stop one inmate from repeatedly running into a brick wall.
Mr Taylor said improvements had been made since his visit, staff training had been increased and “there is now a real sense of purpose here”.
But he said “bureaucracy” continues to extend the 28-day threshold for sending prisoners with severe mental health issues to hospital.
He said this meant that in the cases he had witnessed, the suffering “continued and lasted much longer than it should have.”
Prisoners cannot legally receive care under the Mental Health Act while in prison and must be transferred to a hospital.
Once the need for a transfer is confirmed, the transfer must occur within 28 days.
However, Mr Taylor’s latest report found that across the UK’s 21 prisons, only 15% of people are transferred within this period, with some people waiting for more than a year.
During that time, patients are kept in solitary confinement in bleak cells supervised by correctional officers with little or no mental health training because of the risk that their illness could trigger violence against others or themselves. There is.
A leading psychiatric nurse says the backlog is due to NHS cuts in forensic beds.
Mr Williams said the safety unit at Fromside was “nearly always full”.
Rob Williams, who worked at Eastwood Park and Fromeside Medium Secure Units in 2018, is now a senior lecturer in mental health nursing at the University of the West of England.
She said the biggest challenge is that women are often transferred from all over the country due to a lack of women’s prisons.
“There were people who committed crimes in Newcastle and got together in Bristol while I was there.
He said it then came down to logistics and negotiations to get the Newcastle team to accept an evaluation trip.
“So there are also pressures on time, delays, complexity and bed space.”
“I think it’s a perfect storm,” he added.
“The reality is that mental health service provision has been significantly reduced over the past decade.”
He explained that although there are about 3,000 fewer safe beds available than in 2010, “the goal of moving people into those beds remains the same.”
Three women died in Eastwood Park last year, and inspectors found rates of self-harm had more than doubled since 2019.
independent monitoring committee [IMB] Eastwood Park officials shared their concerns about the delays and “continue to monitor progress in improving care in the complex prison unit.”
The report states that in September 2023, the King’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) will return to carry out an independent review of progress and that the force will have “clearer objectives and entry criteria, and “We have made good progress in improving the ”.
The IMB said inspectors “remained legitimately concerned” that women continued to be delayed in accessing specialized care, but added that “much of the delay in transfers was due to the leadership of Eastwood Park.” It’s not within our control.”
Fromeside Ward, run by the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership, has just 12 forensic beds available for female prisoners.
Dr Jothan Holloway, head of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ department of forensic psychiatry, and Dr Jeremy Kenny-Harbet, deputy head of the department of forensic medicine, said the delays were “unacceptable” and that “demand is high in many cases” There is insufficient capacity.”
“More consideration needs to be given to how services are structured to meet people’s needs.”
They further asked, “What steps can be taken to prevent people with severe mental illness from entering the criminal justice system in the first place, and whether their symptoms worsen or relapse once they are in the criminal justice system?” “We also need to consider what we can do to reduce the risk of this happening.” system.
“Governments, the criminal justice system and mental health services have a duty to work together to tackle this problem through a national, collaborative and united approach.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson confirmed that offenders have access to mental health support in prison, as well as help to get off drugs and enter rehabilitation.
“NHS England is investing in post-custody care to help those leaving prison access community-based health services, helping to reduce re-offending, reduce crime and protect the public.” The report said.
