Inpatient Treatment of Mentally Ill Prisoners in General Psychiatric Departments and Hospitals

Abstract

Inpatient psychiatric treatment of prisoners is organized differently in Germany, depending on the structural conditions of the federal state and prison. There are very few findings on the different possibilities of treatment and the view of the hospitals on this issue. Our aim was to gain an up-to-date picture of inpatient treatment of prisoners in general psychiatric departments and hospitals and the challenges these institutions face. We conducted an anonymous online survey of the frequency, extent, and challenges of inpatient treatment of prisoners. Approximately 460 chief physicians of German general psychiatric departments and hospitals were invited to participate in this survey. In addition to descriptive statistics, we calculated group differences by type of hospital and by subjective responsibility for inpatient care of prisoners. A total of 74 chief physicians surveyed participated; 51.4% of the surveyed hospitals provided psychiatric inpatient treatment to prisoners in 2020. Group differences between the different types of hospitals were found only for the presence of anticipated anxiety among regular inpatients. Various differences were found between responsible and non-responsible hospitals, especially with regard to organizational aspects. For the treatment of mentally ill prisoners, various organizational challenges as well as fears of hospital staff and fellow patients were mentioned by the participants. The type of hospital appears to play a subordinate role here, whereas the responsibility of the hospital for the inpatient treatment of mentally ill prisoners might be more decisive for anticipated concerns and barriers.