CAT/OP/GBR/CSPRO/1
123. The police are required to notify the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland of any
person held under this power. The Commission has a statutory responsibility to monitor the
use of powers in the 2003 Act and it publishes the results of its monitoring in an annual report.
The number of orders in which the identified place of safety was a police station was at its
highest in 2011/12 at 106 (18%) with the most recent figures showing that this percentage
has dropped to 3% (35) for 2018/19.
124. The Commission continues to monitor this activity and its relevance to the content of
local psychiatric emergency plans.
Northern Ireland
125. Strategic direction within this healthcare remit is set out in the joint publication from
the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Department of Health (DoH) “Improving Health
within Criminal Justice Strategy” and the accompanying Action Plan which were published
in June 2019. Healthcare services (physical and mental) and addiction services are provided
through healthcare teams based in each prison establishment.
126. The Juvenile Justice Centre in Northern Ireland has a range of processes and protocols
in place for all young people following admission to the custodial centre. All young people
are subject to a health assessment within 24 hours of admission to the facility and to a GP
review within 7 days; this incorporates a physical and a mental health screen to identify issues
at the earliest opportunity. This identifies any support required immediately.
127. Going forward, the Department of Justice is working with the Department of Health
to develop an integrated Regional Care and Justice Campus for children in Northern Ireland.
The new joint facility will provide a therapeutic model for meeting the health and mental
health care needs of juvenile offenders. Satellite community wrap-around provision,
including accommodation, will be developed as part of this wider Campus, with the aim of
keeping all but a small number of children out of secure accommodation.
“74. The Subcommittee echoes the CPT recommendation that prisoners with severe
mental-health conditions should not be placed in segregation units as an alternative to
normal accommodation; “instead, such prisoner patients should be treated in a closed
hospital environment, suitably equipped and with sufficient qualified staff to provide
them with the necessary assistance.”
England and Wales
128. Prisoners who need to be transferred to a psychiatric unit for treatment should be
moved out of prison as quickly as possible. Prison transfer and remissions guidance in
relation to COVID-19 was published by HMPPS and NHS England and NHS Improvement
(NHSE/I) in April 2020.
129. The NHS has worked with the Prison Service to collect new evidence to increase the
understanding of secure hospital transfers under the Mental Health Act 1983. This evidence,
published in December 2018, has increased understanding of where transfers work well and
how delays arise.
NHSE/I is updating the transfer and remission guidance for prisons, and this is expected to
be published later this year.
130. The Mental Health Act White Paper accepts in principle the introduction of a statutory
time limit of 28 days from initial assessment to hospital admission for prisoners and detainees
identified as requiring inpatient admission for treatment of mental health needs; and the
introduction of an independent role to manage the transfer process, coordinating between the
different agencies on behalf of the patient. This will be reflected in updated NHSE/I transfers
and remissions guidance to be published later this year. The White Paper recognises the
importance of embedding this guidance before making the time limit statutory.
131. Prisoners should only be held in the segregation unit under the proper authority. This
is provided by the Prison (YOI) Rules:
• Under Prison Rule 45 (YOI Rule 49) – Good Order Or Discipline/Own Protection;
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