Mental health care

There are different types of mental health professionals who work with people in prison. These include:

• GPs (a regular doctor)
• Mental health nurses (a nurse with special training in mental health)
• Psychiatrists (a doctor with special training in mental health and prescribing medication for mental health)
• Psychologists (a type of counsellor)

Mental health care is provided at all prisons through GP’s and mental health nurses. Most prisons also have psychiatrists who visit, and some have psychologists who visit.

Some prisons have special mental health care units:

• Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (Marrmak Unit)
• Melbourne Assessment Prison (MAP) (Acute Assessment Unit)
• Ravenhall Correctional Centre (Ballerrt Yeram-boo-ee Forensic Mental Health Unit)
• Port Philip Prison (St Paul’s Unit)

If you have severe issues with mental health, you could be transferred to one of these prisons to be placed in a mental health care unit.

Involuntary mental health treatment

Important: All mental health care treatment in prisons must be voluntary.

If a psychiatrist thinks you need involuntary mental health treatment (treatment without your consent), they will need to transfer you to Thomas Embling Hospital. Thomas Embling Hospital is a secure forensic mental health hospital. If a psychiatrist recommends that you should be moved to Thomas Embling Hospital for involuntary treatment, they will need to follow the process from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 (Vic).

If you are transferred to Thomas Embling Hospital for involuntary treatment, the psychiatrists there have up to 72 hours to decide whether you need to be kept at the hospital without your consent. If the psychiatrists decide you should be kept at the hospital, they can make a temporary treatment order to keep you there for up to 28 days. If they want to keep you for longer than 28 days, they have to ask for an involuntary treatment order at a Mental Health Review Tribunal hearing. You will be present at any Mental Health Review Tribunal hearing and be represented by a lawyer from Victoria Legal Aid.

Involuntary treatment orders can be made for up to 3 months. That means if the psychiatrists at Thomas Embling Hospital want to keep you at the hospital involuntarily for a long time, they need to go back and get permission from the Mental Health Review Tribunal at least once every 3 months. If you are on a 3-month involuntary treatment order but the psychiatrists think you are well enough to go back to prison, they can send you back before the 3 months is finished.

Complaints about mental health care in prison

Complaints about mental health care in prison or at Thomas Embling Hospital can be made to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission (MHWC).

For more information on making a complaint to MHWC, click here.