Pathways of care of women in secure hospitals: which women go where and why.

Background: Care pathways for women needing expensive, secure hospital care are poorly understood.

Aims: To characterise women in low and medium security hospitals in England and Wales and to compare populations by security and service provider type.

Method: Census data from all specialist commissioning areas.

The reliability and validity of the forensic Camberwell Assessment of Need (CANFOR): a needs assessment for forensic mental health service users.

No instrument exists that measures the individual needs of forensic mental health service users (FMHSUs). The aim of this study was therefore to develop a valid and reliable individual needs assessment instrument for FMHSUs that incorporated staff and service user views and measured met and unmet needs. The Camberwell Assessment of Need was used as a template to develop CANFOR.

Ethnic differences among patients in high-security psychiatric hospitals in England.

Background: Black (Black Caribbean and Black African) patients are over-represented in admissions to general adult and medium-security psychiatric services in England.

Aims: To describe the sociodemographic, clinical and offence characteristics of patients in high-security psychiatric hospitals (HSPHs) in England, and to compare admission rates and unmet needs by ethnic group.

Method: A total of 1255 in-patients were interviewed, and their legal status, socio-demographic characteristics and individual treatment needs were assessed.