Patient Group
The provision of health services in a custodial setting is complex and faced with challenges that non-custodial health services do not encounter. The average length of stay in a correctional environment is short with 27% staying fewer than 8 days and 10% staying longer than 6 months, which provides only a small window of opportunity to provide health services to individuals. The inmate population is characterised by a poor health status resulting from general neglect, substance abuse and mental illness.
Long Bay Hospital is a non acute health care facility with 3 speciality units; Aged Care and Rehabilitation, a Medical Surgical Unit and a Mental Health Unit. The Mental Health Unit provides speciality mental health inpatient services to patients requiring voluntary treatment. The Medical Surgical Unit provides non acute inpatient pre and post operative care, medical observations and convalescence and the Aged Care and Rehabilitation Unit provides speciality care, assessment and rehabilitation for older persons.