Sununu voices support for new secure psychiatric hospital

Governor Chris Sununu recently announced he supports the effort to close the Secure Psychiatric Unit of the Concord state prison and move mentally ill patients to a new mental health facility. New Hampshire is currently one of only a few states that does not have a psychiatric hospital for criminals or those deemed a danger to others. Sununu says the state is investigating whether it makes more sense to build and operate a new hospital or to transfer patients and inmates to a mental health facility that already exists out-of-state.

Those held at the current SPU facility at the Concord state prison are often extremely violent. Patients are committed to the psychiatric unit for a variety of reasons – some are ruled not guilty of a crime by reason of insanity, some are deemed incompetent to stand trial, and others are convicted criminals deemed too violent to be safely housed with the rest of the prison population.

However, any New Hampshire resident with mental illness who “present[s] a serious likelihood of danger to himself or to others” may also be committed to the SPU, without committing a crime.

New Hampshire Hospital, the state mental health hospital, transfers about five such patients a year to the SPU.

The SPU is not an accredited psychiatric hospital. Legislation was introduced during the last session to change this, but the standard was lowered to less-stringent accreditation as a behavioral health facility. The SPU has made headlines in recent years as patients there have accused the state of violating their constitutional rights by incarcerating them without convicting them of a crime.

The spokesman for gubernatorial candidate Molly Kelly explained why she is in favor of a new forensic hospital: “Molly believes that people facing mental health challenges should not be treated like criminals. She supports finding better ways to ensure they receive the treatment they need, including by building a new mental health facility.”

Opponents say that the state should focus on providing the best care possible at the prison rather than spending money on a new facility. As Carlene Ferrier with the Department of Corrections who oversees the nursing staff puts it, “A building doesn’t make a program – I think it’s the staff that are doing the day to day care, and I think we have a great team who are well-trained and committed...”