Juliet Lyon, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, commenting on the death at Styal prison said:

“This is not only a terrible tragedy, it is also a terrible indictment of Government’s failure to attend to the drug treatment and mental health needs of vulnerable women who offend.”

A report published by the Prison Reform Trust last month (Troubled Inside: Responding to the Mental Health Needs of Women in Prison) revealed that two thirds of women in prison were suffering from a mental illness.

At the end of June, ten women in prisons in England had taken their own lives, including four under 21 years old. Last year there were a total of nine female suicides, the highest ever recorded.

Supported by the Nuffield Foundation, Troubled Inside calls on the government to take urgent action to stop women with mental health problems being sent to prison and to invest in mental health provision, drug treatment and support and supervision in the community. It highlights the shocking levels of mental illness amongst female prisoners:

* Two thirds of women in prison show symptoms of at least one neurotic disorder such as depression, anxiety and phobias. More than half are suffering from a personality disorder. Among the general population less than a fifth of women suffer from these disorders.

* Half of the women in prison are on prescribed medication such as anti-depressants or anti-psychotic medicine and there is evidence that the use of medication increases whilst in custody.

* Women in prison have a high rate of severe mental illness such as schizophrenia or delusional disorders – fourteen per cent compared to less than one per cent in the general population.

* Out of all the women who are sent to prison forty per cent say they have attempted suicide at some time in their life.

The report argued that, despite a new improved health policy and some dedicated staff, the Prison Service is unable to provide adequate care for these women. Mental health provision in jails is of a much lower standard than elsewhere in the NHS.  In many cases prison regimes simply exacerbate mental distress.

To address what it calls ‘the tragedy of wasted lives’ the report puts forward an agenda for action. The main recommendations are that:

* The Government should focus on early intervention and invest in accessible and appropriate mental health care and drug treatment designed to respond to the needs of vulnerable women and girls.

* Court diversion schemes need to be available across the country so that offenders who are acutely ill or at risk of suicide can be given hospital places or the treatment they need.

* The Government needs to develop community penalties where female offenders can pay their debt to society and get out of trouble without causing unnecessary damage to themselves and their children. It must establish small, local support and supervision centres which provide access to mental health care and drug treatment. Linked to these centres, secure provision should be developed for the very few female offenders who present a risk to the public.

* The Prison Service needs to meet NHS standards, policies, protocols and targets particularly regarding the use of medication, patient involvement, training for doctors and health care staff. The Service should respect and listen to women prisoners and develop models of self-help. An independent agency should monitor mental health provision in prisons.

Notes to Editors:

1. On 8th August 2003 the female prison population of England and Wales was 4,689. The female prison population has increased by 191 per cent in the last ten years.
 
2. 54 per cent of female remand prisoners and 41 per cent of sentenced prisoners report some degree of drug dependency in the year before prison.

3. Women are held an average of 63 miles away from home, which makes contact with their families difficult.  This can impact on successful resettlement, and mental wellbeing, as links with community support are limited. 

4. Over half of women in prison report that they have suffered violence at home and one in three have experienced sexual abuse. 

5. The vast majority of women prisoners are serving short sentences for non-violent crimes.