As part of the support of the Council of Europe to the Georgian Penitentiary system in the area of mental healthcare services for detainees, a first draft of a mental health strategy for penitentiary establishments has been developed with a view to improving the prevention, early detection, awareness of and treatment of mental disorders within the Georgian penitentiary system. The ultimate goal of the strategy is to provide a framework to facilitate the sustainable, consistent and continuous clinical care of prisoners with mental disorders, according to the individual need.

During the 2-day workshop (19-20 September 2018) the Project’s experts and the representatives from the Ministry of Justice discussed the following key priorities,:

• Mental health screening and assessment at the point of entry into the penitentiary system

• Provision of mental health services in the penitentiary system, including development of existing and/or creating new services

• Suicide prevention and crisis management

• Development of human resources and/or recruitment of specialists

• Review of the legislative framework and elimination of gaps

The final strategic document will be presented to the Government of Georgia for its adoption and will become the policy document for the penitentiary establishments to ensure an improved treatment of prisoners suffering with the mental disorder.

This activity has been organised within the framework of the Project “Improving mental health care of persons detained in Georgia”, funded by voluntary contribution of Bulgaria, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Norway, the Slovak Republic, and Sweden, to support the implementation of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2016-2019.