8.

Non Acute Forensic Unit

Service attribute	Details
Services provided	Aims to provide long-term treatment and rehabilitation in a safe, structured environment for individuals with severe mental illness associated with significant violent or other serious offending behaviour. The Non Acute Forensic Unit: ○Provides specialist behavioural and symptom management programs. ○Provides Individualised and group rehabilitation programs aimed at maximising individual functioning and minimising the likelihood of repeat offending related to recurrent mental disorder. ○Supports the transition to safe management and monitoring in a less secure setting. ○Provides trauma-informed practice and services performed are culturally secure and are carried out in close liaison with Indigenous workforce and/or specialist advisors. Programs have a strong focus on safety, security and risk assessment and management but have the capacity to build and test an individual’s ability to manage their treatment needs as well as substance use risks, relationships, occupational capacity and activities of daily living within a secure perimeter. An important function of Non Acute Forensic Units is providing psychologically informed practice for comorbid personality disorders. Residents of Non Acute Forensic Units attend peer groups and may attend substance abuse rehabilitation groups.
Key features	Non-acute Forensic Units are a component of the continuum of stepped therapeutic care located in high security forensic hospitals. Individuals accessing this service pose a significant risk of harm to others and require a higher level of physical, relational and procedural security than can be provided in mainstream mental health services. Individuals may access the community for specific rehabilitation purposes, which is generally of limited duration with varying degrees of supervision in place. Non Acute Forensic Units can also provide medium and low secure treatment settings. While clinical need should determine length of stay in this unit, legal circumstances might also impact length of stay depending on the jurisdiction. Gazetted
Hours of operation	24 hours/7 days
Population profile	Individuals often have a complex presentation of severe mental illness that has been associated with serious offending, usually of a violent nature. Primary diagnoses often include psychotic disorders or severe affective disorders with high levels of comorbidity particularly substance use disorders, severe personality disorders or cognitive impairment, and who pose significant risk of harm to others.
Example service	Forensic Non Acute Inpatient Service (Rehab Program)(Western Australia)