The Mental Health Inreach
Team (MHIT) is a specialist mental health service provided for the
inmates of HMP Manchester. Originally envisaged as a community
mental health team for the specialised community existing within
Manchester's Category A prison, the team is currently working to
develop a new service specification following a review by
commissioners last year.
The Team bring together the skills, knowledge and experience of
psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, and a social care group worker,
working in partnership with the healthcare staff of the prison
inpatient unit and the discipline staff on the wings. Within the
prison they provide the assessment and support people need to deal
with the problems that can stem from mental ill health.
The MHIT use the Care Programme Approach (CPA) when working with
prisoners, though the Care Co-ordinator role remains with the CMHT
in the prisoner's home location. Liaison with other teams and
services outside the prison is a key part of the MHIT service,
including not only community mental health services in the
prisoner's home location but also the Probation service and the
Criminal Justice Liaison Team to ensure that there is a continuity
of planning and care as people move in and out of prison.
The team provide the full range of nursing inputs available in
other settings, including assessment, care planning, Cognitive
Behavioural Therapy, psycho-social interventions and
medication.
A range of groupwork activities is also provided from the Day
Care Centre operated by the team, covering anger management, social
skills, recovery, and health promotion including mental and
physical wellbeing. There is also a specialist group for older
prisoners.
The team also provide a range of services which are more primary
care in nature but which require secondary care level input due to
the complexity and risk management issues that stem from the prison
environment. These include triage and assessment of all prisoners
identified as potentially having mental health problems at the
screening process that all prisoners go through on entering the
prison, mental health checks on all prisoners held in the
segregation unit on a daily basis and special assessment of all
high profile prisoners and those sentenced for particularly serious
crimes. This is due to the elevated risk of suicide in these
cases.
Contact details
Telephone: 0161 817 5930
Address:
Diane Press
Team Manager
HMP Manchester
1 Southall Street
Manchester
M60 9AH
Opening hours:
Access to the prison is by prior arrangement only.