The Netherlands is facing a critical shortage of spots in TBS clinics (forensic psychiatric clinics), leaving detainees who have completed their prison sentences waiting for extended periods, sometimes years, before receiving the mental health treatment they need. This bottleneck is causing significant distress to both the detainees and their families, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the justice system and the humane treatment of individuals with mental health issues.

The pre-transit department in the penitentiary institution (PI) in Vught is specifically designed to prepare detainees, after long prison sentences, for a forensic psychiatric clinic (tbs-kliniek)

One such detainee is Lisa, who has already served her prison sentence but has been waiting for a TBS placement for a year. Lisa, along with other detainees in the pre-transit department of the penitentiary institution in Vught, is undergoing a “de-prisoning” process aimed at repairing detention damage and preparing them for intensive treatment. This department, created in 2017, aims to promote flow to TBs clinics, where psychologists, therapists, and staff try to repair so-called ‘detention damage’

The lack of available TBS spots means that detainees are effectively serving longer sentences than originally intended, which some argue is a violation of their rights. Niki Kuin, director of care and treatment at the PI Vught, emphasizes that while the law allows for this, the question of its humaneness remains.

The consequences of this delay are far-reaching. Hyacinthe van Bussel, director of TBS-kliniek de Rooyse Wissel and chairman of TBS Nederland, notes that the increasing imposition of TBS by judges, coupled with changes in regulations regarding when detainees can begin treatment, has contributed to the problem. Furthermore, TBS patients who have completed most of their treatment are finding it increasingly difficult to move on to follow-up care, stalling the outflow from the clinics. This is made worse by the lack of cooperation of regular mental health care.

The impact on detainees is profound. Frans, the father of 30-year-old Jesse, who has been waiting for a TBS placement for four years, recounts his son’s deterioration in prison. Jesse, who suffers from psychoses, autism, and a mild intellectual disability, has become severely depressed, anxious, and hopeless while incarcerated among criminals. Frans regrets reporting his son to the authorities, as the prison environment has exacerbated Jesse’s condition.