Prisoners' Mental Health Problems

DOI10.1177/026455059604300405
Published date01 December 1996
Date01 December 1996
Subject MatterArticles
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Prisoners’ Mental
Health Problems:
Screening Needs and
Accessing Services
Offenders with mental health problems became a ministerial first
priority for the Health Service in 1995. But what of those in custody
experiencing such problems and their throughcare/resettlement
needs? How
do they perceive their mental health problems? Barbara
Swyer, Manager of the pioneering Wessex Project at Winchester
Prison since 1993, and Rachel Lart, Research Fellow at Bristol
University’s School for Policy Studies, report the project’s main
research findings.
n
1992, the Home Office and
Department
disordered. Both Reed and Gunn identified
of Health published a
the need for mentally disordered prisoners
Review of Health and Social Services for
to be in touch with specialist services
Mentally Disordered Offenders (the Reed
within and outside prison, but were aware
Review) which recommended:
that this was often not the case.
The aim of the Wessex Project was to
’There should be core teams of
identify
professional staff
prisoners with mental health
responsible for
problems and, by acting as the link between
ensuring mentally disordered offenders
the outside and inside worlds, improve
are properly assessed and receive the
prisoners’ access mental health services on
continuing care and treatment they
release. Running alongside this, the project
need’.
was charged with carrying out research to
The Wessex Project is, in many ways,
establish the nature and extent of mental
just such a team; the only difference is that
health problems within the prison
the Reed Review was alluding to a team in
population and to reflect on its experience
the community and the Wessex Project
of working as a multi-agency team in
team works equally within the community
prison. The project has now produced two
and Winchester Prison. In part, the project
annual reports and is about to publish its
was a response to the early work of the
third and final report, from which these
Reed Review and to the findings of
findings are taken.
Professor John Gunn’, who estimated that
This article gives an overview of some
up to 37% of prisoners were mentally
of the main research findings; the numbers
205


of prisoners who reported mental health
prison between April 1993 and March 1994
difficulties, what they believed these to be,
(907 men) and all prisoners newly-
the ethnicity of those reporting mental
remanded between February 1995 and
health problems, the offences for which
August 1995 (393 men), using an interview
they were remanded or had been convicted
schedule developed and refined by the
and their previous contact with services in
project team. This interview schedule was
the community. It then goes on to give a
not designed as the ultimate clinical
brief outline of the project’s use of the Care
research questionnaire, but rather as a user-
Programme Approach and highlight one of
friendly, workable document which not
the main issues that has arisen from
only picked up key ’triggers’ for concern
working with other agencies to secure
about mental health but also, in a short
services for ex-prisoners.
time, was able to gather information on
The project’s research is unique in that
health, criminal behaviour and social
it is based almost entirely on self-report
situation, including basic plans for release.
information from the prisoners. It reflects
their perceptions and definitions of mental
Mental Health Problems Reported
health problems, which is unusual as the
One in four of the newly-sentenced men
majority of studies focusing on prisoners
reported a history of mental health
and mental disorder are based on accepted
problems (this included self-harm). By far
medical diagnostic tools, usually
the greatest problem identified was
administered by psychiatrists. The findings
depression at 12%. Psychotic illness was
show how many of...

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