Letter to the Editor
Kingston Whig Standard
November 28, 2006
Prisons need psychiatric services
The Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office, a rights protection agency, is concerned about the Canadian Press story "System fails the mentally ill," that appeared in The Whig-Standard on Nov. 15, as well as the treatment of individuals with mental illness in the correctional system in Canada.
We must never consider the prison system to be the mental health provider of choice and we must never consider it to be an appropriate service provider for someone who is ill.
Correctional Services says that mental health problems are two to three times more common in the prison population than in the general population and that the numbers continue to increase.
We must pause and ask why so many individuals with mental illness are appearing in the correctional system instead of in the hospital system.
Is it because individuals who have mental illness aren't able to access the services, supports and treatment that they may want or require and, as a result, only get the help they require once they have been criminalized?
If so, what a sad reflection of our ability to support some of the most vulnerable individuals amongst us in their recovery from mental illness.
The correctional system must improve access to mental-health care and treatment for inmates while preserving their fundamentallegal and civil rights.
The system must include a full range of mental-health services that support inmates in their quest for wellness, recovery and rehabilitation. These include assessment, referral, treatment, counselling, crisis-intervention services, and case-management supports to assist with re-integration into the community
In addition, access to rights protection, rights advice and independent advocacy services must be guaranteed.
Until additional investments are made, and a full range of mental health services are put in place, many inmates will continue to go without treatment, and there will be little or no recourse for those who should be in hospital and not jail.
We can, and must, do better so inmates with mental illness receive the services and supports that they may want and need.
Let's also never forget the human cost, the impact on families, clients and communities — and the tragic results that often occur — when access to appropriate care and treatment isn't available.
David Simpson
Director (A)
Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office
Toronto
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