Government takes welcome action on mental health crisis in prisons

The statistics around mental health in prison paint a grim picture of a system in crisis:

• 59% of men and 82% of women say they have mental health problems.
• Incidents of self-harm are at record levels.
• Just 15% of patients are transferred to NHS beds where they can get treatment within the required 28-day period.

However, the bald statistics don’t do justice to the appalling suffering of many people in prison with severe mental ill health. Our staff deal with these desperately unwell people every day and hear the frustrations of dedicated governors who can’t access appropriate NHS bed spaces for people in their care.

At the root of the problem is the designation of prisons as ‘places of safety’ under mental health legislation. This means that severely mentally unwell people can be sent to prison when a secure hospital bed is not available, even though treatment for these patients cannot legally be given in prisons.

We are delighted that, in last week’s King’s Speech, the government announced that it would end the use of prisons as ‘places of safety’. This will ensure that people in the midst of a mental health crisis will be treated in a more appropriate setting. Many thousands of seriously unwell people are languishing in prison cells, getting worse, not better. New legislation to prevent this would be an act of humanity.

However, the pledge must be accompanied by funding, and we all know that money is tight. An obvious solution would be to use some of the £4bn set aside for prison expansion to create more NHS bed spaces. This would free up space in prisons, reduce self-harm and deaths in custody, ease pressure on hard-pressed officers, and help governors create sustainable prison regimes that allow prisoners to rebuild their lives.

We’re delighted that the government is taking action on this issue, but as always, tough funding decisions loom.

Andy Keen-Downs, CEO

Photo: A constant watch cell at HMP Lincoln by Andy Aitchison.