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Office of the Citizens’ Representative
March 28, 2011

Office of the Citizens’ Representative – Investigation of Psychiatric Services in Provincial Correctional Facilities

Citizens’ Representative, Barry Fleming, released today his Office’s Report of its investigation into psychiatric services available at provincial correctional facilities. The investigation inquired into whether the Department of Justice is treating inmates in correctional facilities fairly when it continues to retain a psychiatrist with conservative prescription drug practices.

For the past number of years, the Office of the Citizens’ Representative (OCR) has received numerous complaints from inmates and their families and friends concerning the reduction or elimination of the prescription of psychiatric drugs upon incarceration. Those drugs had previously been prescribed by physicians or psychiatrists in the community. As ombudsmen generally do not have the legal right to investigate the standard of practice of professionals the OCR was limited in its response to these individual complaints. In 2008, the Department of Justice released its review into the provincial prison system titled Decades of Darkness – Moving Toward the Light. The authors noted the conservative approach to prescribing medications used by the department’s psychiatrist. They recommended that a comprehensive strategy be developed to address the mental health issues of offenders so that the quality of care and support is based on professionally accepted standards.

The release of the Decades of Darkness report prompted a shift in the focus of the OCR on this issue. It started an investigation into the department’s continued retention of a psychiatrist with conservative prescription practices as opposed to the way the psychiatrist treated individual inmates. The investigation entailed the conduct of numerous interviews with witnesses, including three psychiatrists, and the review of relevant literature on the many and varied problems of prescription drug use and abuse in correctional facilities. The report concludes with a recommendation that the Department of Justice undertake a request for proposals for psychiatric services, including the prescription of psychiatric drugs, with the goal of providing these services in the same manner as that available to the general public.

Mr. Fleming said, “While the psychiatrist retained by the department has provided many years of dedicated service, that service is not consistent with the psychiatric options available to members of the general public with respect to prescription practices. The department has been aware of the conservative nature of these psychiatric prescription practices for some time. By continuing to retain those services, it has failed to meet the reasonable expectations of inmates and has breached the fairness principles contained in the Citizens’ Representative Act.

Copies of the report can be viewed by accessing the “What’s New” section of the OCR website www.citizensrep.nl.ca.

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Media contact:
Jocelyn Walsh or Lorraine Holden
Office of the Citizens’ Representative
729-7647

2011 03 28             10:55 a.m.

 
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