
Better than prison: life inside the UK's secure hospitals - DanBC
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/23/better-than-prison-secure-hospitals-mental-health
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DanBC
This is a pretty good article and it reflects my tiny bit of knowledge of
forensic units and the people who've stayed in them.

> Guild Lodge is one of 60 medium-secure mental health hospitals in England
> and Wales that house people deemed to be a danger either to themselves or
> others on account of their mental illness. Most of the 149 patients have
> committed offences while mentally ill, or have been diagnosed with a mental
> illness while already in prison. Some have been in higher-security
> institutions; almost all are being held under the terms of the Mental Health
> Act.

This article doesn't do a good job of describing the difference between
regular MH hospitals (where, if you're a danger to yourself or others you may
be held against your will detained under section of the MH act) and forensic
units ("secure hospitals") where if you pose a risk of harm to yourself or
others you may be held against your will, detained under section of the MH
Act.

The difference is in the involvement of criminal justice.

Other things to look out for in the article: in the images you can see the
door handles are an anti-ligature design; there are windows everywhere for
open sightlines everywhere;

> Service users (the preferred term for patient)

Some people who are detained under section hate this term, especially if
they're subjected to restraint or forced treatment.

> As with all hospitals, the aim is that patients will one day be discharged
> from Guild Lodge with their illnesses under control. It is recovery-focused
> rather than punitive, and although the Ministry of Justice retains a
> controlling interest in the onward progression of many patients (some will
> go back to prison)

So, here's the thing. If you get a prison sentence you serve that term, and
are let out. (Although if you murdered someone you're on licence - they can
recall you to prison - for the rest of your life). If you're detained under
the MH act you don't know how long you'e going to be there, and if they're
risk averse you might spend a long time in there.

I've spoken to a small number of people detained in medium secure forensic
units, and they said that this was the hardest part of it for them. They'd
come from prison where they'd got into the mindset of serving their time.

Also, I tend to prefer the word "forensic unit" rather than "secure unit".
Most regular MH hospitals have some locked wards, but they are not secure
units. The word secure is a bit confusing.

