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Written question asked by Lord Howie of Troon (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Darzi of Denham (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 December 2008.

Prisoners: Mental Health

Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average number of days between diagnosis and transfer to hospital for prisoners in England and Wales suffering from severe mental illnesses in each year for which figures are available.
Answer

Information is not available in the requested format. The decision to transfer a prisoner to hospital is not based upon diagnosis of a severe mental illness, but on whether, in the opinion of two psychiatrists, the individual's mental health condition at the time warrants transfer. Data are available on the number of prisoners who have been waiting for more than 12 weeks for a transfer to hospital, on a quarterly basis from June 2003 to March 2008, and is shown in the table.

Number of prisoners with a severe mental illness, and who had been waiting longer than 12 weeks for transfer from prison to hospital, in England 2003-08
Reporting Period Number of individuals waiting longer than 12 weeks for a transfer to hospital
June 2003 58
September 2003 39
December 2003 39
March 2004 40
June 2004 49
September 2004 36
December 2004 51
March 2005 51
June 2005 62
September 2005 58
December 2005 40
March 2006 43
June 2006 44
September 2006 43
December 2006 38
March 2007 44
June 2007 46
September 2007 51
December 2007 41
March 2008 25

"Source: Offender Mental Health—Department of Health/Ministry of Justice"

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
248; 706 c57-8WA
Session
2008-09
Subjects
Hospitals Mental illness Prisoners' transfers Prisoners
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk