Penitentiary Mental Health Care in Belgium

Abstract

The new century has ushered new innovations in mental health care in Belgian jails and prisons, following a century of inaction and neglect. Despite repeated pleas by several leading Belgian forensic psychiatrists, the political authorities did not see through the necessary reforms in order to bridge the severe gap between regular psychiatric care and penitentiary forensic psychiatric care. The primary reason for this situation is that, despite an extensive public health system, Belgium has not extended equitable care to prisoners. It remains the responsibility of the Justice Department to organize health care within jails and prisons but it never assumed this duty at an acceptable level; consequently, there is no quality control of the somatic or psychiatric care in jails and prisons.