THE BELMARSH SCHEME - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY OF THE TRANSFER OF MENTALLY DISORDERED REMAND PRISONERS FROM PRISON TO PSYCHIATRIC UNITS

Background. Contracting in psychiatric services from the NHS into prisons has been advocated to improve the care of the mentally disordered in custody. The Belmarsh Scheme is such a service. Method. A prospective study investigating the characteristics of a six-month cohort of remand prisoners requiring transfer to hospital and evaluating the service's effectiveness. Results. Fifty-three (4.3%; 95% CL 3.2% to 5.6%) of the 1229 new remands required transfer to hospital; all were accepted. The transfer group contained a higher proportion of black men (51%) than all other remands (30%) (difference 21%; 95% CL 8% to 35%, P = 0.002). Transfer times were lower than those reported for a neighbouring prison. Conclusions. The Belmarsh Scheme secured in-patient psychiatric care rapidly for all those identified as needing it.