Ms ROSOL – Before I start, I just want to provide a warning to people watching or reading that I have a series of questions about a coronial investigation into a suicide in custody.
I have some questions about the coronial inquest into the death of Robert Harold Gerard. The report quotes Dr Darjee:
The level of resource in the prison mental health service is the lowest I’ve come across in any developed country.
There’s no funding in the Budget for prison mental health services, and are you content leaving the resourcing at levels that have been described as the lowest in any developed country? Can you confirm that the current resourcing is .8 FTEs of a psychiatrist, three nurses and a .4 FTE registrar?
Ms OGILVIE – Firstly, let me express my condolences to the family. It’s a terrible thing when these things happen. Suicide is a terrible thing. It touches so many people. So, my personal condolences.
In relation to the death of Mr Gerard, Magistrate Robert Webster handed down findings into the death – he died by suicide on 23 May 2022.
Throughout the coronial hearing, evidence was given by Dr Rajan Darjee, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist and Deputy Statewide Specialty Director of Forensic Health and Mental Health and the Community Mental Health Service, that in his view, the level of resources in the mental health services provided to prisoners is the lowest he’s come across in any developed country. Notwithstanding, Coroner Webster concluded that the medical treatment and care provided to Mr Gerard was reasonable.
Magistrate Webster also commented that the response from the TPS staff was ‘swift and professional’.
I acknowledge, of course, that more resources could be put into these services. We are working to ensure adequate resources are available. The Department of Health is currently developing a new Prisoner Mental Health Service, and the service is being established to address the key recommendations from the Prisoner Mental Health Care Taskforce.
By way of giving you an update on what’s occurred so far, approval has been given to recruit permanent positions within this team to include: a consultant psychiatrist, career medical office, team leader, clinical nurse specialist and two case managers, along with a fixed‑term project manager.
Recruitment has been initiated. Fixed‑term appointments are in place in the interim while permanent recruitment progresses. As the above-mentioned positions are currently unfunded, a budget bid has been initiated as part of the Department of Health funding bid. You would appreciate, obviously, work across departments in relation to that.
Ms ROSOL – The coronial inquest recommended an urgent review – sorry if you’ve answered this already – be conducted into the current mental healthcare services and that the recommendations of any such review be implemented. Has that review commenced? Do you intend to do it?
Ms OGILVIE – Let me seek some information on that. That is a question for the Minister for Health, given that the services sit within his purview.
Ms ROSOL – Thank you. The coroner also recommended that the Tasmania Prison Service (TPS) continue to develop and implement plans to remove all, or as many as are reasonably possible, hanging points in the accommodation and communal living areas of the medium precinct of Risdon Prison Centre. Are you able to advise the committee on any progress towards implementing this recommendation?
Ms OGILVIE – Yes, thank you. I would ask that Rod make some comments.
Mr WISE – There were three major recommendations. One of them you have already touched on, which was the mental health review. It is a matter for the Health department, but there is also a large degree of overlap between the Custodial Inspector’s recent review of health and mental health services. Combined, those mental health issues are being picked up.
There was also a discussion about shoelaces. I have instructed that the Tasmania Prison Service phase out shoelaces, even though we are a little sceptical about the efficacy of that recommendation, given that there are other potential ligatures that prisoners can access.
The final one is the more problematic one for the department, I must say. I have written to the Coroner directly some weeks ago, and sought an opportunity to discuss that with him. It’s a very, very expensive thing to do to remove all the hanging points. The location where Mr Gerrard sadly died is a lower security area, which is a more normalised environment. For example, in cell accommodation we ensure that there are no hanging points. In a lower level security accommodation there are hanging points on doors, for example, that the prisoners have to their bedrooms. To go back and remove all of those would lose some of the benefits, we think, of the more normalised environment. It’s a discussion I think we ought to have with the Coroner, and I have invited him to do that.
