WHAT DEMANDS DO THOSE ADMITTED FROM THE CRIMINAL-JUSTICE SYSTEM MAKE ON PSYCHIATRIC BEDS - EXPANDING LOCAL SECURE SERVICES AS A DEVELOPMENTSTRATEGY

The paper reports bed usage over 1 year by patients from the criminal justice system (CJS) in an area with a population of nearly half a mil lion. It includes admissions from the CJS to all levels of security an d follows transfers between hospitals. Total bed usage (average occupa ncy) by cases admitted from the CJS was 17.3 per 100,000, with an appr oximate cost per annum of pound 1.4 million per 100,000 population. Ca ses admitted from the CJS took up 7% of all open bed usage. Of all bed usage by patients from the CJS, 44.8% was in local services, and thes e cases were responsible for 35.5% of the total costs. Of all secure b ed usage 29% was accounted for by cases not originating in the CJS; th e figure is 35% if maximum security is excluded. Of all 106 new admiss ions from courts and remand prisons, 90% were admitted to local psychi atric beds, and 41% of all new admissions were placed in local secure services. It is argued that the results illustrate the value and cost- effectiveness of expanding local forensic services as a strategy for f uture service development.