Reprimands issued by the Deputy-Ombudsman – shortcomings in the availability of psychiatric care for prisoners

Deputy-Ombudsman Maija Sakslin criticises shortcomings in the availability of and access to psychiatric care for prisoners. The availability of psychiatric care is not at the level required to meet the need for care, and prisoners’ right to sufficient health services is not realised in the manner required by law. This is partly due to insufficient resources and lacking or inappropriate facilities.

The need for mental health services among prisoners is significantly higher than what they can be provided with. This jeopardises their right to sufficient health services and weakens patient safety. Deputy-Ombudsman Sakslin considers the situation extremely concerning. Concerns about prisoners’ difficulties with access to psychiatric services must be treated with the required seriousness. 

The opportunity for prisoners to receive treatment for their mental health problems depends in practice entirely on the operation of the Health Care Services for Prisoners. The prevailing situation jeopardises both the patients’ fundamental right to good care and the staff’s right to legal protection, which is secured as a fundamental right. 

The Health Care Services for Prisoners has proposed measures aimed at developing its operation. The Deputy Ombudsman finds that the availability of mental health services for prisoners cannot be improved through measures taken by the Health Care Services for Prisoners alone. It is at least partly a question of an imbalance between the requirements laid down in legislation for the authority’s operation and the resources allocated for the authority to use. The accountable ministry has a central role. The obligation of public authorities to guarantee the observance of basic rights and liberties, laid down in section 22 of the Constitution of Finland, requires that the Health Care Services for Prisoners must be able to take appropriate and effective care of the tasks imposed on it in legislation.

The Deputy Ombudsman emphasises that prisoners are in a more vulnerable position than the rest of the population because of their poorer health and the deprivation of their liberty. Persons with mental health problems form a special group among prisoners. The Ombudsman has a special task to oversee the realisation of fundamental and human rights of people who are in a particularly vulnerable position.

The Deputy-Ombudsman requests that all necessary measures be taken without delay to improve the situation.

The Deputy-Ombudsman urges the Health Care Services for Prisoners to investigate any ambiguities in the referral practices of the psychiatric prison hospital, take the necessary measures to correct the situation, and report back to the Deputy-Ombudsman by 30 September 2025.

Additionally, the Deputy-Ombudsman requests that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry of Justice investigate how the referral and availability of mental health care for prisoners can be improved. The Ministries are to report their measures by 28 November 2025.

The decision is based on a report by the Health Care Services for Prisoners, a study describing prisoners’ health (Wattu IV), and information obtained, and observations made during inspections.

The full text of Deputy-Ombudsman Sakslin’s decision no 64/2024 has been published (in Finnish) on the website www.oikeusasiamies.fi.

Further information is available from Senior Legal Adviser Anne Ilkka, tel. +358 9 432 3346.