Caulfield Laura S, Twort Hannah
Senior Lecturer in Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK.
Int J Prison Health. 2012;8(1):7-15. doi: 10.1108/17449201211268246.
Stemming from substantial criticism during the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, the UK government and HM Prison Service developed a number of policies and protocols aimed at improving the state of prison mental healthcare. While it is difficult to fault the purpose of the government's intentions, criticism has continued relating to problems with the implementation of government led change within the prison system. Existing research leads people to question whether policies are being implemented as intended; and if not, why not? The only clear way to answer these questions is to ask those involved in the actual implementation of these recommendations within the prison service. This paper aims to answer these questions.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This paper documents findings from a national survey of senior mental healthcare staff working in prisons in England and Wales. Staff were surveyed about their views on the implementation of recommendations from recent key government documents, their perceptions of prison mental healthcare versus community mental healthcare, and their views on the relationship between HM Prison Service and the National Health Service.
While many staff report improvements in prison mental healthcare, many have struggled with the implementation of new ways of working and the findings here suggest there is still some way to go towards providing offenders in prison with effective and appropriate care. Where effective ways of implementing change were identified, these are discussed.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Listening to the experiences of the staff involved in prison healthcare has helped identify where implementation of changes could be improved and thus highlights where support might best be targeted in future.
源于20世纪末和21世纪初的大量批评，英国政府和英国监狱管理局制定了一系列政策和协议，旨在改善监狱精神卫生保健状况。虽然政府意图的目的无可挑剔，但对于监狱系统内政府主导变革的实施问题，批评仍在继续。现有研究促使人们质疑政策是否按预期实施；如果没有，原因何在？回答这些问题的唯一明确方法是询问监狱服务部门中实际参与这些建议实施工作的人员。本文旨在回答这些问题。
设计/方法/途径：本文记录了对英格兰和威尔士监狱中高级精神卫生保健工作人员进行的全国性调查结果。调查询问了工作人员对近期关键政府文件中建议实施情况的看法、他们对监狱精神卫生保健与社区精神卫生保健的看法，以及他们对英国监狱管理局与国民医疗服务体系之间关系的看法。
虽然许多工作人员报告监狱精神卫生保健有所改善，但许多人在实施新工作方式方面遇到困难，本文的研究结果表明，要为监狱中的罪犯提供有效和适当的护理仍有很长的路要走。文中讨论了已确定的有效实施变革的方法。
原创性/价值：倾听参与监狱医疗保健工作的人员的经历有助于确定变革实施可改进之处，从而突出未来支持的最佳目标所在。
