Mental disorder and prisons

Mental disorder and prisonsMajor reform of health care provision for prisoners in England and Wales requires the National Health Service (NHS) to have a greater role in treating mental health problems in this population.People in prison are entitled to have access to the same range and quality of NHS services as the general public (Health Advisory Committee for the Prison Service, 1997).In 2000, the NHS entered into a formal partnership with the Prison Service and it is anticipated that the NHS will eventually assume full responsibility for prison health care.Traditionally, psychiatric care for prisoners with serious mental health problems has been within the domain of medical officers employed by the Prison Service and visiting psychiatrists, most often those working in the forensic field.However, in the future it is likely that general adult psychiatric services, and psychiatrists working in other fields such as substance misuse and child and adolescent mental health, will be called upon to have a much greater role in prisons.