Mental health alarm for asylum seekers

Asylum seekers and migrants detained under the Immigration Act
suffer deteriorating mental health, a report finds.

Sixteen detainees assessed by a MŽdecins Sans Frontires doctor
over a 10-week period in 2004 were found to have mental health
problems, according to a report from charity Bail for Immigration
Detainees.

Twelve of the 13 adult detainees, held in prisons and immigration
removal centres, had medical conditions that required attention but
health care staff were either unaware of the conditions or failed
to help.

The study reveals that detainees who require more than a basic
level of care do not have access to the same range and quality of
health care as those in the community, as stipulated by detention
centre rules.

The report recommends that a maximum length of detention be
introduced and the detention of the mentally ill or those with
serious medical conditions be prohibited.

• Fit to be Detained? from www.biduk.org