Men remanded into custody for medical reports: the outcome of the treatment recommendation

Abstract

Over a three-month period, 634 men were remanded into custody at Brixton Prison for medical reports; 87 received recommendations for psychiatric treatment and 82 individuals were actually referred to hospitals for treatment. Fourteen months later nearly three-quarters of the men who went to hospital had been discharged. They fell into three groups by outcome: men with acute psychoses for whom treatment was definitely beneficial; men who remained behaviourally disturbed after receiving treatment although their mental states improved; a group with chronic disorders for whom admission was not beneficial. The two groups with improved mental states represented only 5 per cent of the initial receptions to Brixton Prison.