From patient to prisoner, one cruel regime replaced by another

The case of Cork woman Kay Barrett is a stark example of how prisons have become a dumping ground for dealing with some mental health problems, writes Mick Clifford

Clair Barrett with her sister Kay, right, at home in Donoughmore. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Clair Barrett used to visit her mother in various psychiatric institutions. Her mum was diagnosed with schizophrenia and it wasn’t nice to see her there, residing in a hospital, removed from their lives. But at least they could visit and talk and go to the park on occasion and know that she was in the best setting available at the time.

These days, Clair visits her sister Kay, who has also experienced mental health difficulties. At first Kay was also diagnosed with schizophrenia, but that has changed, at least once. One diagnosis has her condition as emotional deregulation, another suggests she is bipolar. The sisterly visits do not, however, take place in a hospital setting but in a prison.