The training was attended by a total of 34 practitioners from different penitentiary administrations, namely 15 from Portugal, 13 from Romania, and 6 from Belgium.
The third MenACE project’s training event took place in Lisbon, from the 25th to the 29th of June 2018.
The presented and discussed topics included geriatrics and palliative care in prisons, the Portuguese case, staff health and well-being in face of the challenges posed by a growing older prison population, the management and treatment of the mentally ill in forensic settings, self-harm, and suicide among inmates with mental health conditions, etc.
In addition, this MenACE training event also provided participants with a visit to the palliative care unit and to the psychiatric ward of the São João de Deus Prison Hospital, in the region of Lisbon.
These training sessions have set the foundations for the next steps in the scope of the MenACE project, by gathering inputs from different experiences on the topic of mental health in prisons and how it is linked with aging.
About the MenACE Project:
MenACE is a project that aims to increase the response to mental health disorders within prisons and the quality of palliative and end of life care services provided by enhancing the competences of management and frontline staff to address prisoners’ mental health needs and the special needs of older prisoners.
The project promoter is the HOSPICE Casa Sperantei, from Romania and the partnership includes three institutions from Portugal (IPS_Innovative Prison Systems, BSAFE LAB Law Enforcement, Justice, and Public Safety Research and Technology Transfer Laboratory of Beira Interior University, and the Directorate General for Social Reintegration and Prison Services), plus the Justice Federal Public Service from Belgium, the National Administration of Penitentiaries from Romania, the Helse Bergen Haukeland University Hospital, from Norway, and EUROPRIS – the European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services, based in The Netherlands.
Learn more at www.menace-project.org