Mental toll of drug use on prisoners
A NEW study into psychiatric illness in Irish prisons has revealed three out of five prisoners were suffering from substance-use disorders.
Of the prisoners that were suffering mental illness brought on by substance abuse, 26pc were abusing heroin, 29pc cannabis and 37pc alcohol.
The study centred on the mental well-being of male prisoners in Ireland and dealt with sentenced prisoners and prisoners that are remanded in custody pending trial.
The prisoners used were from Mountjoy and Clover Hill prisons, the largest prisons for prisoners on remand and sentenced prisoners respectively.
The need to weed out psychiatric prisoners was highlighted in 2006 when psychotic prisoner Stephen Egan brutally killed fellow inmate Gary Douch.
Of those interviewed, 2.1pc were found to be suffering with dangerous psychotic illness.
The report shows that these 13 prisoners were suffering from psychotic illness at the time of the interview.
Three were schizophrenic, seven were suffering from a psychotic mood disorder, two had substance-induced psychosis and one had an organic psychosis.
Twelve of these 13 prisoners were being remanded in custody and had only been charged with minor offences.
The report criticised the fact that these men were being sent to prison when they should have been transferred to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.
It stated that "over half of these commitals were deemed to have an immediate psychiatric treatment need".
"Of those committed to Irish prisons 3.9pc were deemed to require transfer to a psychiatric hospital for treatment."
The report goes on to suggest that there is a "pressing need for diversion services for remand prisoners, to ensure that priority is given to the care of individuals with severe and enduring mental illness".
Mood disorders were affecting 4.6pc of all those studied, these disorders contain various forms of depression.
The figures revealed that anxiety disorders were affecting 5pc of those interviewed, these represent illnesses such as panic disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder.
The report was conducted in 2004 and the results were just published in the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine.
hnews@herald.ie
- Cormac Byrne
