From The Daily Herald St Maarten

CAY HILL–Creating a forensic patient policy for the Dutch Caribbean was among the items discussed when Aruba Prosecutor’s Office representative Karina Dijkhuis Walls and Corrections Institute of Aruba representative Janice Sint Jago visited Mental Health Foundation (MHF) on July 25.
Walls is part of an inter-country task force that will prepare a business case for further decision-making by the Ministers of Justice (and Security) of the Netherlands, Curaçao, St. Maarten and Aruba for the realisation of a full-fledged forensic care facility for the accommodation and treatment of prisoners with severe psychological and psychiatric (mental health) problems. This specifically concerns (former) adult prisoners who require forensic (clinical) care (youth are excluded from the investigation).

“An interview with the Mental Health Foundation is of great importance for the research, especially because the task force focuses not only on mentally ill detainees, but also on former mentally ill prisoners who are still in need of psychiatric care,” Walls was quoted as saying in a press release issued by MHF on Thursday.

“In the business case, the current situation (in particular the bottlenecks) and the desired situation in the countries Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten will be described. The task force needs input from the field for identifying the current bottlenecks, as well as for describing the desired situation. After all, it is important that the end product is widely supported. The ultimate aim is for the business case to be delivered in October/November, so that it can be presented to the Ministers during the JVO of January 2019.”

MHF Interim Director Eileen Healy welcomed Walls and the opportunity for the foundation, as MHF continuously strives to provide the best psychiatric care in St. Maarten, the release said.

For more on this story go to: https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/78990-forensic-patient-policy-for-dutch-caribbean