Developing Prison Inreach Services for Female Prisoners
| Date | 01 June 2004 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13619322200400020 |
| Published date | 01 June 2004 |
| Pages | 34-37 |
| Author | Michael Loughran,Tina King |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Developing Prison Inreach
Services for Female Prisoners
Michael Loughran
Essex Forensic Mental Health Service,
Runwell Hospital
Tina King
Essex Forensic Mental Health Service,
Runwell Hospital
Introduction
The development of inreach mental health services to
prisoners forms a central theme of the National Service
Framework for Mental Health (Department of Health,
1999a). High levels of need and complexity have been
reported in a number of studies that indicate that the
prevalence of mental health problems within prisons is
much higher than their respective community rates
(Maden et al, 1994; Singleton et al, 1998; Parsons et al,
2001). Changing the Outlook (National Assembly for
Wales et al, 2001) and the NHS Plan (Department of
Health, 2000) highlight improving the mental health
of offenders and identify abuse, substance misuse,
self-harm and personality disorder as issues that need
to be addressed through the development of
assessment processes and interventions. Compared to
men higher individual and social costs have been
identified for women, specifically relating to issues
around childcare and housing that contribute to social
exclusion (Department of Health, 2002).
The proportion of young female offenders under
17 years of age has increased by eight per cent
between 1981 and 1999, a period in which the
corresponding rate for men fell by 23%.
Approximately five per cent of young female offenders
are given custodial sentences (East & Campbell,
1999). From the lowest point in 1993 the number of
young males sentenced has risen by 39% compared to
a rise of 76% for young females. This may relate to
changes in policy and policing, and the concurrent
drop in the proportion of young offenders given
cautions (East & Campbell, 1999). The most common
offences committed by females under 16 were
criminal damage, shoplifting, buying stolen goods and
fighting. Over the age of 16, females committed less
criminal damage and shoplifting but were more
involved in fraud and buying stolen goods. Offending
by females over 16 is also increasingly linked, directly
or indirectly, to substance misuse.
This paper describes the development of an
inreach service designed to address the needs of
female prisoners in HMP & Young Offenders’
Institution (YOI) Bullwood Hall in Chelmsford,
Essex.
Developing the service
Following a finding of high levels of psychiatric
morbidity within the prison, the South Essex
Partnership Trust was commissioned in March 2002 to
provide mental health services to female prisoners.
HMP & YOI Bullwood Hall has a capacity for 180
prisoners, with one lifer wing, four young offender
wings and one juvenile wing. This mixture of
juveniles under 18 years of age, young offenders
between 18 and 21 years old and lifers presents a
number of challenges in respect of tailoring
interventions to meet the needs of these different
groups. To address this, we are developing a multi-
agency approach. The team delivering the service
consists of a full-time co-ordinator, a 0.2 whole-time
equivalent (WTE) nurse therapist, a 0.4 WTE nurse, a
0.2 WTE occupational therapist, one psychology
session and a small amount of administrative support.
Currently, medical input has not been formally agreed
but two weekly sessions are provided by visiting
psychiatrists. Two mental health nurses from the
health care team already established at the prison also
contribute to the work of the inreach team.
When considering the development of an inreach
service there are a number of factors that have to be
taken into account. For example, young offenders
34 The Mental Health Review Volume 9 Issue 2 June 2004 ©Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) 2004
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