Imprisonment Following Discharge From Mental Health Units: A Developing Trend in New Zealand

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aut.relation.articlenumber1038803
aut.relation.journalFront Psychiatry
aut.relation.startpage1038803
aut.relation.volume14
dc.contributor.authorSkipworth, Jeremy
dc.contributor.authorGarrett, Nick
dc.contributor.authorPillai, Krishna
dc.contributor.authorTapsell, Rees
dc.contributor.authorMcKenna, Brian
dc.date.accessioned2023-02-23T02:23:22Z
dc.date.available2023-02-23T02:23:22Z
dc.date.copyright2023-01-26
dc.date.issued2023-01-26
dc.description.abstractINTRODUCTION: Contemporary models of care for people with mental disorders continue to shift to community-based care, requiring fewer inpatient mental health beds, shorter inpatient lengths of stay, and less use of coercion. It has been suggested that some mentally unwell people, whose behavior can no longer be safely contained in overstretched mental health units where seclusion and restraint are discouraged, are now left to the criminal justice system to manage. It is unclear whether the risk of imprisonment following discharge from a mental health unit has increased over recent years. METHODS: A quantitative, retrospective cohort study design was used to investigate any association between an acute inpatient mental health service admission in Aotearoa (New Zealand), and referral to a prison mental health team within 28 days of hospital discharge, from 2012 to 2020. Data were extracted from the national mental health dataset managed by the Ministry of Health. RESULTS: Risk of imprisonment within 28 days of inpatient discharge increased over the study period. People experiencing this outcome were more likely to be younger, male, of Mâori or Pacific ethnicity, presenting with substance use and psychotic disorders who were aggressive or overactive, and were subject to coercive interventions such as seclusion and compulsory treatment during their admission. DISCUSSION: We concluded that contemporary models of less coercive predominantly community based mental health care may be increasingly reliant on the criminal justice system to manage aggressive and violent behavior driven by mental illness. It is argued from a human rights perspective that mental health inpatient units should retain the capacity to safely manage this type of clinical presentation.
dc.identifier.citationFront Psychiatry, ISSN: 1664-0640 (Print); 1664-0640 (Online), Frontiers Media SA, 14, 1038803-. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1038803
dc.identifier.doi10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1038803
dc.identifier.issn1664-0640
dc.identifier.issn1664-0640
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10292/15893
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherFrontiers Media SA
dc.relation.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1038803
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccess
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectcoercion
dc.subjectinpatient
dc.subjectmental health
dc.subjectprison
dc.subjectviolence
dc.subjectcoercion
dc.subjectinpatient
dc.subjectmental health
dc.subjectprison
dc.subjectviolence
dc.subjectPatient Safety
dc.subjectBehavioral and Social Science
dc.subjectSerious Mental Illness
dc.subjectHealth Services
dc.subjectBrain Disorders
dc.subjectClinical Research
dc.subjectMental Health
dc.subject8.1 Organisation and delivery of services
dc.subject8 Health and social care services research
dc.subjectMental health
dc.subject3 Good Health and Well Being
dc.subject16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
dc.subject1103 Clinical Sciences
dc.subject1117 Public Health and Health Services
dc.subject1701 Psychology
dc.titleImprisonment Following Discharge From Mental Health Units: A Developing Trend in New Zealand
dc.typeJournal Article
pubs.elements-id492993
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