Mental illness is a condition where a person changes their behavior, emotion, and way of thinking. The condition affects the patient’s interaction with others, making the patient develop moodiness and dementia, among other characteristics. Mental illness is a health condition that requires medical attention like any other illness, and the patients should be treated with utmost care since their thoughts are not straight, and the patients may develop drug and substance abuse. There has been an increase in people suffering from mental health, raising concerns about providing treatment to every patient. In prisons, some people suffer from mental health issues and maybe imprisoned for reasons such as the people with mental health issues are a risk to those surrounding them, their uncontrolled behavior, and lack of mental healthcare.
The issue of people with mental disorders in prison is essential since the number of mental illness cases has risen. At least 450 million people globally are suffering from this health condition and not receiving proper health care (Stewart et al., 2020). The World Health Organization and other health care facilities conduct research and invest in medication to ensure that people with mental disorders get the help they require (Georgiou & Townsend, 2019). Hence when the patients are in prison, the resources to fight against the condition go to waste, and the patients do not receive proper healthcare. Although prisons act as correction facilities, they should not be placed in prisons for mental health patients. In prisons, the patients are in overcrowded rooms that lead to violence, causing the patients to develop suicidal thoughts.
Most importantly, the patient lacks access to proper health care and drugs that help control their condition hence depriving them of their right to proper healthcare just like any other citizen. In prisons, people with mental disorders are stigmatized and discriminated against (Georgiou & Townsend, 2019). The patients are isolated in prisons because they risk those surrounding them and themselves. The stigmatization and discrimination also occur in health care facilities since they are not well taken care of as required by the health department (Wallace & Wang, 2020). Indeed, people with mental health disorders should not be incarcerated since the condition worsens due to lack of proper health care and increases the suicidal thoughts in the patients.
Alice Roth’s arguments relate to current events such as the COVID 19 pandemic, which has led to the rise of people suffering from mental health issues. There has not been proper care, and the challenge developed when people in prisons also developed mental issues (Georgiou & Townsend, 2019). The government has to provide funds to build enough mental facilities to provide a safe environment for the patients, train nurses to take care of the patients, and provide treatment to prevent the patients from going to prison (Domino et al., 2019). When there are proper psychiatric facilities, the patients receive proper care and therefore improve the health and the life of the prisoner suffering from mental disorders (Stewart et al., 2020). It also helps prevent stigmatization and discrimination hence providing a safer environment for the patients to express their emotions freely.
Alice Roth’s information is essential since it helps challenge the solution of mental health patients in prisons. The patients should have proper and affordable mental health care through efficient training of health workers and having enough facilities to take care of the increasing number of patients (Georgiou & Townsend, 2019). Ensuring there are psychiatric centers ensures that the patients have support and creates awareness to the public on mental health issues to prevent people from suffering from this condition and urging those suffering from mental health to seek medical care that prevents the rise in suicidal thoughts among a population. Taking care of mental health patients also ensures that the mental health legislation is adopted and protects human rights for the patients.
References
Domino, M. E., Gertner, A., Grabert, B., Cuddeback, G. S., Childers, T., & Morrissey, J. P. (2019). Do timely mental health services reduce re-incarceration among prison releasees with severe mental illness? Health Services Research, 54(3), 592-602. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13128
Georgiou, M., & Townsend, K. (2019). Quality network for prison mental health services: Reviewing the quality of mental health provision in prisons. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 30(5), 794-806. https://doi.org/10.1080/14789949.2019.1637918
Stewart, A., Cossar, R., & Stoové, M. (2020). The response to COVID-19 in prisons must consider the broader mental health impacts for people in prison. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 54(12), 1227-1228. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867420937806
Wallace, D., & Wang, X. (2020). Does in-prison physical and mental health impact recidivism? SSM – Population Health, 11, 100569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100569
