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Mr Chris Puplick AM, Chair of the Board, Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network (NSW) will be speaking at the Correctional Services Healthcare Conference.
In the lead up to the 7th Annual Correctional Services Healthcare Conference, at Informa Insights, we had a chance to speak to Chris about his most recent work with Justice Health and the Forensic Mental Health Network (NSW).
- You are the Chair of the Board of the Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network (NSW). What have been some of the highlights of your career so far, in particular in your most recent work with Justice Health and the Forensic Mental Health Network (NSW)?
In the JH&FMHN we have had to cope with exponentially increasing numbers in our prisoner/patient population and this has required us to rethink many of our strategies and approaches. The introduction of smoke-free prisons throughout the State and the success of our Aboriginal Court Diversion and Connections programmes both keeping people out of custody and managing their reintegration into the community have achieved outstanding results.
- Your address at the conference will discuss Managing Ageing Patients: Reception to Palliative Care. Without giving too much away about your upcoming presentation, are you able to share your thoughts on the special challenges ageing prisoners present to correctional facilities?
This requires responses across a variety of fronts – from the problems of managing elderly patients in Nineteenth Century facilities; retraining our workforce to understand the problems of geriatric and dementia care; securing the personal safety of these patients and dealing with issues of family relationships as everyone ages.
- With prison systems facing an ageing of their population, in your opinion, what are some of the new approaches that correctional facilities can be taking to manage the illnesses and issues of ageing prisoners?
The fundamental question is whether or not people with dementia should be kept in custodial facilities at all. With longer sentences and people coming into custody at an older age how well equipped are we to manage a population, an increasing number of whom will die while in our care?
- We are delighted to have you as the Chair of the upcoming conference. Are there any presentations from the 7th Annual Correctional Services Healthcare Conference that you are particularly looking forward to?
It’s such a challenging programme that I think I’ll be learning from all of them.
