OVER 300 incarcerated mentally-ill inmates may soon see an improvement in the quality of care they receive in the island's penal institutions.Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Kern Spencer, said that improvements were being carried out in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, to upgrade the conditions under which the mentally ill are treated. These improvements are part of a 20-page proposal which may be implemented in the future.
RELOCATION
The proposal includes the relocation of mentally-ill inmates from the St. Catherine and Tower Street correctional facilities to a secure area.
"There was a tri-partite forum involving the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice and the Correctional Services, with the specific view to establish a forensic, psychiatric facility to take care of these prisoners," Mr. Spencer said
He added that the Government had not built an adult correctional facility in over a century, and that a new 5,000-room unit which will be built will solve the twin tigers of rehabilitation and dealing with the mentally ill.
"A section of that facility will be dedicated to mentally-ill inmates. However, no budget has been set for the project which is still in the discussion stages," he said.
DIVERT CASES FROM JUSTICE SYSTEM
Nancy Anderson, legal officer at the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights, believes that the authorities should divert mentally-ill offenders from the penal system into facilities where their mental illnesses can be properly treated.
"It is time to look at these people as people who are ill, instead of people who are criminals," she told The Sunday Gleaner. "It is time to look at diverting them, and not bringing them into the justice system. These cases burden the justice system, and the court has the power to send them to a correctional centre so that they can seek help to get on with their lives."
MEDICAL ATTENTION
She added that there needs to be a "full-time psychiatrist working for the correctional services", and "the best place to treat them is often at home with relatives".
Mr. Spencer, however, contends that the inmates received adequate medical attention: "They are being cared for. We work closely with the Ministry of Health, and the Correctional Services Department (CSD) has 78 medical orderlies and nurses caring for the inmates."
LOCATING FAMILIES
According to official sources, there are 300 persons who could be considered mentally ill in the island's institutions 176 at Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre and the rest at the St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre.
Deputy Commissioner of Corrections, Aileen Stephens, said that for the past year, the CSD has been working with human rights groups to locate the families of some mentally-ill inmates.
And last week, the Senate passed legislation intended to provide better care and protection for prison inmates who are mentally ill.
The Criminal Justice (Administration) Bill was passed with one amendment.
The legislation is expected to prevent the mentally ill, who are accused or convicted of a crime, from being lost in the legal shuffle through the courts and prison system.
