Fun British Word of the Day-Rubbish-usually pertaining to garbage though it can be expanded to include anything not worth it's keep or unsuitable for some purpose-I was told that George Bush's final trip to Europe was rubbish.
Today I was able to write my first report detailing the events leading up to the “suicide” (not yet officially called that) of a prisoner here on the island. I made a few recommendations and Paul and I plan to submit and argue for our conclusions tomorrow at a meeting with the prison officials. Just like in our country warning signs are often ignored or misunderstood until it’s too late and when you look back it’s very obvious what was about to happen. My prisoner was transferred from one prison on the mainland to the island with a 30 year history of hypomania (bipolar II) and a strong risk of self-harm indicated. Yet, this message was not received, nor were the many official submissions to management made by prisoners and staff that the inmate’s behavior had radically changed. So our main recommendations will be to solve the breakdown in communication and find a more suitable location for prisoners with special mental needs.
Public health, at least here, is heavily involved with just about anything you can think of. We also have a meeting tomorrow to address an unexploded Canadian bomb from World War II that needs to be disposed of. What it is doing here I’m not sure. In fact, I don’t think I realized Canadians even made bombs until today though if I had, I would have bet that their's would be the one not to have exploded.
2 comments:
The Blog looks great. Keep up the good work.
It is so difficult to accept the loss of a life taken in the act of suicide. The events that occur before this happens aren't always what most consider as the "warning signals" that are described as classic. It would be much easier to avert if that was so. I believe that the effort must be in dealing with the treatment of depression & in this case it is evident that the safety net that should have been in place to help this individual was not. Unaccceptable is the only word that comes to mind. This person was someone's brother, son, father, child...it matters that they were treated with such carelessness. If that had occurred to a child, "outrage" would be the topic here. But has this individual come to a position in our society that their value is any less? Someone should be held accountable to prevent this type of tragedy from occurring again & to offer our mentally ill the basic respect & dignity that is required of our humanity. Give them hell Kris...this just maybe the reason you are right where you are. Doesn't sound like anyone else is stepping up. You are the man for the job & we are proud of you.
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