| answer text |
<table><tbody><tr><td><p>We are determined to improve the process of transfer from
prison to hospital under the Mental Health Act to ensure delays are reduced. We take
the mental health of prisoners extremely seriously, which is why we have increased
the support available to vulnerable offenders, especially during the first 24 hours
in custody. We are updating the mental health training for prison officers and so
far over 24,000 new and existing prison staff have completed at least one module of
the revised suicide and self-harm prevention training. HMPPS is working with NHS England
and Public Health England to improve and redesign services for people in prison with
mental health needs. This includes revising approaches to secure hospital transfers
under section 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act when a person needs to be in a hospital
setting for their mental health assessment and treatment. HMPPS and NHS England have
worked together to collect new evidence and have increased understanding of where
transfers work well and how delays arise, identifying areas for improvement. NHS England
are currently consulting on an updated version of DHSC’s good practice guidance on
transfers and remissions, which will inform our approach. In addition, the independent
review of the Mental Health Act, published in December 2018, made recommendations
in relation to patients in the criminal justice system, which require detailed consideration
in the context of transfers from prison to hospital and we will respond to these in
due course. Officials in the Mental Health Casework Section (MHCS) in HMPPS issue
transfer warrants on behalf of the Secretary of State. MHCS has an internal target
to produce a transfer warrant within 24 hours of receipt of all necessary information.
In the vast majority of cases (96%), transfer warrants are issued within 24 hours
of MHCS receiving all necessary information. By holding partners to account where
information is missing, MHCS has recently reduced the average time from initial notification
to the issue of a warrant from 14 calendar days to 3 calendar days.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>
|
|
