Gov't urged to set up psychiatric facilities for mentally ill inmates

By Kimone Witter 

   

Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Clayton Sewell is recommending the incorporation of psychiatric facilities within correctional centres which would attend to the needs of mentally ill inmates and reduce the costs associated with the construction of a dedicated facility.

 

The suggestion comes amid a renewed call for the relocation of mentally ill inmates and detainees to appropriate psychiatric facilities.

 

Speaking at the launch of a Stand Up For Jamaica policy paper last week, Director of Medical Services at the Department of Correctional Services, Donna-Michelle Royer-Powe, pointed to troubling examples of medical staff rotating rooms to attend to patients and psychiatrists treating patients on benches due to the lack of infrastructure.

 

Dr. Sewell, who also heads the Psychiatry Department at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), says if his recommendation is considered, the facility must be separate from the general inmate population and have dedicated health care providers.

 

"I believe that if it is integrated into a general correctional facility, then that is the more affordable option, because you already have security that is attached to the facility that you just have to expand it to include the mental health facility and then bring in the health care staff. But it must be a purpose-built facility and it must have all the resources," he stressed. 

 

There are more than 200 mentally ill inmates in correctional facilities across the island.

 

Dr. Sewell, who was speaking Wednesday on TVJ's Smile Jamaica, added that community mental health services should be improved so fewer people with mental illnesses run afoul of the law.

 

In the meantime, adequate medical staff to cater to mentally ill inmates remains a concern, despite 60 posts being implemented in the last four years.

 

This included nine posts for psychiatrists, 11 for psychologists, and 11 posts for medical officers.

 

The new hires came after the 2020 Independent Commission of Investigations report on 81-year-old Noel Chambers, who was mentally ill and died after waiting 40 years for trial.

 

In relation to the 20 psychiatrists and psychologists, Dr. Sewell said this number is insufficient. 

 

"Well, the ideal ratio globally it is esimated you should probably have about one in ten ratio in terms of psychiatrists to offenders. So there is the need for more of those specialists, also that they should be trained in managing prison mental health care. I think that is also one of the deficits," he noted. 

 

While he acknowledged that more graduates of the University of the West Indies are leaving with improved forensic mental health skills, Dr. Sewell reiterated the need for greater specialisation from psychiatrists and psychologists, as well as greater provision of the necessary medications.