UK’s prison health services need support
May 30, 2008
Mental health services in the UK prisons are not getting the attention and the investment that they badly need for providing adequate care. Research has shown that £300 a year is spent on mental health care of a prisoner, just a third of the amount spent on those with acute problems in the community.
The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health and Lincoln University team has identified regional variations in spending after analysing available NHS figures. Responsibility for prison healthcare (across England and Wales) was passed to the NHS in 2006 from the Prison Health Service, to bring it up to the standards provided to the general public.
According to experts, over 90 per cent of prisoners suffer from some type of mental health problem, which is four times the rate in the general public. Also, the risk of a prisoner committing suicide is almost seven times higher than normal. Sean Duggan of the Sainsbury Centre stated: “Many in-reach teams are struggling to provide a decent service owing to inadequate funding; we need a major boost in spending, especially in those areas, which are falling behind (on this count).”
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