Mental Health Facilities !

A long time ago New South Wales had a specialist hospital with high security to treat patients with mental health issues that were considered dangerous to the public.  It was derided by some people as an " Asylum " and closed, and now mental health treatment seems to mainly consist of specialised wards in the general hospital system.

This week our lack of security for the mentally ill resulted in a 31 year old woman delivering a frenzied attack with a pair of scissors on a  28 year old male teacher at Byron Bay public school. It occurred at 7-30 in the morning, before the school office staff arrived for work and this confrontation happened at the school gates.

There is an obvious back history here because the school had in place emergency procedures to be followed if this same woman entered school premises.  We now learn that this attacker escaped from a mental health facility and was unmedicated.  The attack was completely unprovoked.

The young male teacher is lucky to be alive.  The attack resulted in a broken arm and deep cuts behind his left ear and cuts to his arms and face.  He  was rushed to hospital and underwent surgery.   His attacker fled the scene and was later arrested at her home

This is a familiar outcome to the police and the families of those suffering mental illness.  When someone breaks  the law and it is determined that mental illness is involved they are sent to a supposedly secure ward at the local hospital where they are medicated.  This ensures the return of stability and they are usually soon discharged with ongoing medication - which they often refuse to continue.

Security at mental health wards in public hospitals is more an illusion than a reality.  The sheer volume of staff passing through delivers a security risk and preventing escape is in the hands of security staff spread thinly over the entire hospital structure.  The psychiatrists tending mental health cases are under pressure to treat and release quickly to free up badly needed beds.

This medical failure is usually compounded by what has become the ultimate destination of the mentally ill - our prison system.  A high proportion of those serving time in state jails are suffering mental irregularities and because they are deemed " prisoners " they are excluded from the medical help that could control that condition.  Many are simply serving time with the inevitability that they will reoffend and return to prison shortly after their release.

All aspects of medicine has made great strides as science delves deeper into understanding the human body and we have the ability to deal with mental health.  What is lacking is our ability to secure the patient for the period of time that rehabilitation needs to become effective.  Now that this young woman has committed a serious offence a judge will decide her fate.  The most likely outcome is that she will pass from the medical system to the prison system - and from there a safe return is unlikely  !