Corrections Association organiser Beven Hanlon said the mentally unwell woman should have been in a hospital, not prison. (File photo).

Two prison staff were handcuffed to a mentally unwell inmate at all times for more than a week, Corrections workers say.

It happened in early October at Auckland Women's Prison, with the restraint method used all day, every day, in the woman's cell and in the prison yard.

Corrections Association organiser Beven Hanlon said staff were put on 12-hour overtime shifts of being handcuffed to the woman, who was at risk of self-harm. If they wanted a break, another staff member had to fill in for them. It went on for more than seven days.

"Two staff were handcuffed to the prisoner, one each side. And they were there to hold her down," said Hanlon. "At times, the staff were actually lying on her to keep her under control, stop her hurting herself."

READ MORE:

* Not fit for prison: The journey of a mentally disabled woman through the criminal justice system

* 'Nobody will take her' - intellectually disabled woman sent to prison

* Children left 'in limbo' by Family Court system - barrister

Hanlon said tt was a stark example of a high-needs person being sent to prison due to a lack of beds in the health system; a person Corrections officers were not trained or equipped to manage.

"These aren't people we should be dealing with as Corrections officers, these are people who should be in hospitals."

Staff did not want to do the job and "sick leave certainly increased at that time," Hanlon said. The union intervened when it was notified.

123RF When staff handcuffed to the woman wanted a break, they had to swap with another staff member, Corrections Association organiser Beven Hanlon said.

Since then staff started using a torso restraint on the woman instead, and Hanlon understood the prisoner's behaviour had rapidly improved.

Prison staff could not legally sedate inmates, meaning they had to resort to physical restraints. he said.

"It's cruel. It looks horrible, staff don't like to do it, the prisoners certainly don't like it, but it's what we've got to use."

'TURNED AWAY' BY DHB

Corrections' chief custodial officer Neil Beales said the department had previously tried and failed to secure care for the woman through Waitematā District Health Board (DHB).

"We have previously had contact with the local District Health Board's forensic mental health service to seek alternative options for this woman's care and support outside of her being in Corrections custody," Beales said. "This was not successful, and we had no option but to care for her to the best of our abilities in prison."

Due to her determined and repeated attempts to harm herself, including re-opening existing stomach wounds, trying to hit her head against a cell wall, and repeated scratching, the woman required a "significant level of care and intervention from staff to keep her safe and alive," he said.

SUPPLIED Corrections chief custodial officer Neil Beales said the Department had previously tried and failed to secure care for the woman through an unnamed District Health Board (DHB) in Auckland.

On a number of occasions, this included staff using "long-cuff restraints," which enabled the woman to maintain a full range of movement while ensuring staff could safely manage her behaviour and actions.

"The reality is that the mental health sector is under pressure. Regardless of whether we think someone should be in our custody, we need to do the right thing," said Beales.

He said Corrections' mental health strategy involved upskilling frontline staff in identifying and managing people's mental health needs.

The woman is no longer in Corrections custody.

A spokesperson for Waitemata DHB said it didn't know which patient Corrections was referring to, and it didn't want to breach anyone's privacy by disclosing their health needs.

"In general, where a patient does not meet the threshold for inpatient admission but does need mental health care, we work closely with agencies such as Corrections to care for them," the spokesperson said.

"For those in need of treatment while incarcerated, our staff would enter the prisons to oversee the treatment of their health needs to ensure the patient receives appropriate, high-quality care."

NOWHERE TO GO

The handcuffing incident emerged after Stuff reported that Josie*, a 24-year-old woman with an intellectual disability, spent almost a month in Auckland Women's Prison this year.

Corrections Association vice-president Paul Dennehy said mentally unwell and intellectually disabled people being held in prison was a "sad indictment of the fact we don't have facilities around the country to better manage individuals in the appropriate places".

"They should be held in a suitable environment, and sadly as a society we don't have many of those these days; we're crying out for more beds in that area," Dennehy said.

BEVAN READ/STUFF In between hearings at Waitakere District Court, Josie* spent almost a month in prison.

"With the closure of facilities up and down the country, we're finding a lot of those poor individuals are coming into our care. Our staff aren't trained to deal with high-needs people such as those."

Josie has been diagnosed with an intellectual disability and bipolar affective disorder. She has been assessed as having an IQ in the low 40s or 50s.

Psychological reports in her case file at Waitakere District Court revealed she struggled to remember her own name while behind bars, and did not appear to know the difference between the terms "guilty" and "not guilty".

* The woman's name has been changed for legal reasons.