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Ombudsperson Gaby Schwarz presents Special report
Ombudsperson Gaby Schwarz, together with the head of the Federal Commission, Dr. Reinhard Klaushofer, presented the alarming findings of the special report “Persons with Mental Illness: Care in the Penitentiary System Under Scrutiny.”
“For years, the Austrian Ombudsman Board has been drawing attention to the fact that care for inmates with mental illness is inadequate. Yet the Ministry of Justice ignored these warnings, while the number of such inmates continues to rise. That is why we made this issue the subject of a monitoring priority last year. The results are now available. They are alarming: There are too few psychiatrists in the penitentiary system to provide adequate support. As a result, prison guard staff who are not trained for this task must care for these detainees, and persons concerned are often locked away in single cells. In addition to the documented cases of maladministration, we have numerous recommendations. “I urge the Ministry of Justice to implement our proposals. Otherwise, tragic cases will recur,” summarizes Ombudsperson Gaby Schwarz at the appeal for the special report “People with Mental Illness: Care in the Penitentiary System Under Scrutiny.”
Dr. Reinhard Klaushofer, Head of the Federal Commission for the Enforcement of Penalties and Measures, emphasizes: “The persistent gaps in care and support within the penitentiary system and forensic institutions result in systemic human rights violations in the treatment of individuals who have specific care and treatment needs. In particular, the human rights’ guarantees of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the protection of mental and physical health are being violated by the current conditions.”
For the preparation of the special report, the cases of 59 persons concerned—including 13 women and 2 adolescents (excluding those in detention in forensic institutions)—were determined during 17 visits. “It has been shown once again: prisoners with acute severe mental illnesses belong in psychiatric treatment in a hospital,” the Ombudsperson notes, and calls once more for expanding capacities in hospitals and forensic departments to care for detainees.
“Psychiatric permanent positions often remain vacant for long periods,” the Ombudsperson notes, referring to the Vienna Favoriten forensic therapeutic centre, where there was no psychiatrist at all for two and a half years. At the Wiener Neustadt and St. Pölten correctional institutions, there is only one psychiatrist available for a mere four hours per week at each location. For psychiatric care at the Vienna-Josefstadt Correctional Institution, which houses 1,200 detainees, only 18 out of 78 weekly hours are staffed. At the Ried Correctional Institution, a psychiatrist is on site for one day every two weeks. Gaby Schwarz also describes the lack of data exchange among medical professionals as a “major problem”: “A psychiatrist cannot access the general practitioner’s records. When it comes to changing medication, for example, the medical staff relies on feedback from the inmates. That is negligent.”
The Austrian Ombudsman Board recommends the following measures, among others, to improve the situation:
- Expand staffing capacity for psychiatric care of prisoners.
- Expand training programs on how to interact with people with a psychiatric disease.
- Enable data exchange between special services.
- Establish occupational therapy services in all correctional institutions.
- Provide healthcare and nursing staff trained in psychiatry.
Source: Austrian Ombudsman Board
