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Health Services

Justice Health is a business unit of the Department of Justice responsible for the delivery of health services for persons in Victorian prisons.  In Victoria, health services to persons in prisons are contracted out to health service providers.  As head of system, Justice Health sets the policy and standards for health care in prison and contract manages the health service providers.

Health care services descriptions

Health care services within the Victorian prison system are provided at three different levels (primary, secondary and tertiary) and include general and mental health services.

Primary health care

Primary health care refers to the first level of general and mental health services provided at each prison location across Victoria. Primary health care is provided by medical practitioners, dentists, nurses and other allied health professionals. It also covers certain diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. Primary health care services include:

• general practitioner services
• general and mental health nursing services
• pharmacy services
• pharmacotherapy treatment services
• pathology and radiology
• dental services
• audiology, optometry and podiatry services
• physiotherapy services
• health promotion and disease prevention services.

Secondary health care

Secondary health care services are treatment and diagnostic services for prisoners with conditions that require more complex and specialised skills and facilities than are available as primary health care services. Secondary health care usually follows referral from a primary health care setting. Secondary health care services provided in prisons include:

• general (non-specialist) acute and sub-acute inpatient care
• ambulatory care
• specialist outpatient services
• mental health voluntary acute and sub-acute inpatient care.

Tertiary health care

Tertiary health care services provide the most complex and specialist clinical care, requiring sophisticated forms of treatment and diagnostic services. Tertiary health care services are provided only by major hospitals. The scope of tertiary services provided for prisoners is as follows:

• general specialist acute and sub-acute inpatient care
• mental health involuntary specialist acute and sub-acute care.

Mental health care

Primary mental health services include assessment and ongoing treatment and care. These services are provided by psychiatric nurses, General Practitioners and psychiatrist or psychiatric registrars. 

Secondary mental health services are provided on an inpatient basis within the prison system. The Acute Assessment Unit at the Melbourne Assessment Prison provides intensive assessment, observation, treatment and programs for male prisoners with an acute mental illness. St Paul’s Psycho-Social Unit at Port Phillip Prison provides multi-disciplinary care, treatment and rehabilitation for male prisoners requiring assistance and integration into the mainstream prison population or wider community on release.

The Marrmak Intensive Support Unit at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre provides specialist inpatient and outpatient mental health services to female prisoners with serious mental illness and crisis for women at risk of suicide or self-harm.

Tertiary mental health care is provided on an inpatient basis at Thomas Embling Hospital by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health (Forensicare). Thomas Embling is a secure hospital for men and woman from the criminal justice system requiring involuntary treatment.

Health care providers

A number of different organisations provide these health services and programs under a variety of contractual arrangements across Victoria.

• G4S is contracted to provide primary health care, outpatient mental health services and state-wide secondary inpatient mental health services (through St Paul’s Psycho-Social Unit) at Port Phillip Prison. G4S is also responsible for secondary state-wide inpatient health care services delivered at St John’s at Port Phillip Prison and secondary and tertiary outpatient services from St Vincent’s Hospital
• GEO provides primary health care and mental health services at Fulham Correctional Centre
• St Vincent’s Correctional Health Service provides primary health care at Marngoneet Correctional Centre and the Metropolitan Remand Centre.
• Pacific Shores Health Care (a subsidiary of GEO) provides primary health care at the remaining nine public prisons.
• Forensicare provides psychiatric health care services, including the management and provision of services within the Acute Assessment Unit at the Melbourne Assessment Prison.

Governance of health services

Justice Health reports to a Joint Management Committee (JMC) made up of representatives from the major stakeholders in the justice sector, including the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, Justice Health, Corrections Victoria and Victoria Police. This cross-portfolio governance arrangement ensures an integrated approach to the planning of forensic health service delivery and reducing organisational barriers across the public sector.

A Clinical Advisory Committee provides expert clinical advice to both the JMC and Justice Health in relation to best practice, policy, patient safety, and quality and clinical leadership within the justice health service sector.