GOOD MENTAL HEALTH COULD MEAN FEWER PRISONERS
Although roughly one in four adults are diagnosed with a mental health illness during their life, the ratio is reversed in a prison community, with four out of five prisoners suffering from mental health problems.
A history of unemployment, substance misuse or trauma are some of the complex social and personal issues that can be common among a prison population. And, what’s more, prisoners whose mental health needs are not addressed may be more likely to reoffend.
A key aim of the States of Jersey Prison Service is to reduce reoffending, which is why the dedicated team working at HMP La Moye have implemented a raft of measures over the years to improve mental health among prisoners. From support for stress or anxiety to dealing with addiction or anger issues, a prisoner can access classes, treatment or schemes of therapy while serving their sentences.
Such support is, of course, managed within Page 18 20/20 - Mental Health
the context of a prison environment, with GPs, nurses and other medical professionals attending the prison for appointments. The person responsible for overseeing and running the provision of mental and physical health to prisoners is former NHS mental health nurse Andy Buttimer, who has worked at HMP La Moye for 19 years.
“Whatever a citizen is entitled to, then a prisoner is entitled to the same,” says Andy. “There is evidence that if a prisoner is healthy leaving prison then they will be less likely to revert to crime. There is a high level of mental health issues among prisoners – four out of five prisoners suffer from some sort of mental health issue, and statistics for female prisoners are higher at 9.5 out of ten.”
Therefore, every person coming in to the prison at the start of their sentence is psychologically assessed.
“Assessments are carried out within four hours of their arrival,” says Andy. “We do a full health screening and hone in on aspects of their mental health. Prisoners can be referred to the community mental health team or we can help them manage their problems by prescribing treatment, monitoring them and reviewing them. There are a significant number of patients who have had prior mental health problems. We maintain their links with whatever mental health support system they have accessed so that we can get support in place quickly.”
If a care plan is required, then Andy’s team will identify what support a prisoner requires.
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