Policy Hub
On 8 July 2008, Policy Exchange published a report (Out of sight, out of mind: the state of mental health care in prison) which estimates that of the 82,000 prisoners in England and Wales, nine out of ten have one or more mental health disorders.
Although treatment of mental illness in prison has improved over the past decade, the report maintains that mental healthcare has not been given the attention it deserves. The report claims that, of the £20.4 million currently spent on mental health services in prisons, £8.6 million is not being spent efficiently due to shortfalls in staff recruitment and confusion over the role of mental health in-reach teams.
The report also argues that levels of funding are inadequate. The proportion of the total health budget spent on mental healthcare in the community is 15%. The comparable figure for the prison healthcare budget is 11% even though mental illness is much more common in the prison system than in the community at large.
The report insists that there are four areas the government must address urgently in relation to mental healthcare provision: prison overcrowding; resettlement plans; improved awareness training for prison officers and prison governors; and integrated policymaking.
Out of sight, out of mind: the state of mental health care in prison (PDF)