Launch of the Centre for Health and Justice

Tuesday, 15 November 2011 12:41

The Institute of Mental Health is launching a new Centre for Health and Justice at the end of this month – a major national development in the understanding of and provision for mentally disordered offenders.

The Centre will bring together research, policy and practice in the fields of mental and general health care and criminal justice, through an innovative multi-disciplinary approach. It will carry out clinically focused and practically designed research to provide the evidence base to build a new generation of services.

The Centre will be housed within the Institute of Mental Health in Nottingham.

The Institute is a partnership between the University of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. Chair of the new Centre’s Advisory Board will be Lord David Ramsbotham, formerly HM Chief Inspector of Prisons.

Prof Eddie Kane, Director of the Centre for Health and Justice, said: “The establishment of the Centre is a huge step forward in this area and I am delighted to welcome Lord Ramsbotham as our Chair, a leading figure who brings exceptional experience and insight to the role.

“The Centre will bring together staff in the justice environment and in health settings so that the individual is considered in the round. In this way, we will aim to help break down academic disciplinary barriers and professional silo working. This highly innovative Centre will unite agencies, policy-makers, academics and practitioners in addressing these issues and in seeking to develop effective approaches to early intervention.”

The Centre for Health and Justice intends to set out a rolling ten-year programme of work involving research, education, evaluation and policy analysis. Within the Institute of Mental Health it brings together a number of existing units including the Personality Disorder Institute and the Peaks Academic Research Unit, mental health law and forensic programmes, and adds a new focus on criminology research.

Prof Nick Manning, Director of the Institute of Mental Health, said: “Nottingham has emerged as the key site in the UK for practice and policy research and innovation in this area, and the development of this new centre is a timely consolidation of work in a field which addresses some of the most pressing social issues of our time. It is a great pleasure to see how this work has progressed, and I look forward to supporting this exciting new development in future years.”

Prof Mike Cooke, CBE, Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare, said: “Our collaborative partnership in the Institute of Mental Health with the University of Nottingham is resulting in real improved outcomes for people with mental illness. To be able to work together on extending that help for some of the most vulnerable and marginalised members of our society is a great challenge, but one that we welcome. Working in partnership can only help outcomes for everyone.”

Prof Saul Tendler, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, said: “Our researchers at The University of Nottingham have a world-leading reputation for their work addressing issues which have a direct impact on the world in which we live. This new Centre is an excellent example of how our academics are making an enormous contribution in developing our understanding of something which is a significant, complex and persistent problem in our society and identifying innovative new interventions to tackle this type of offending.”

Prof Sean Duggan, Chief Executive of the Centre for Mental Health, said: “We are delighted to partner with the Institute of Mental Health in setting up the new Centre for Health and Justice. Nine out of ten UK prisoners have at least one mental health problems and one in ten has a severe mental illness. We urgently need more high quality research to inform policy and practice in this area and I look forward to working with the Institute to bring the best possible evidence to bear on the way offenders with mental health difficulties are treated in this country.” 

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