Emotional Damages Episode 2 Recap: Improving Mental Health Care in Jails: Dr. Charles Saldanha on Compassion, Collaboration, and Standards of Care

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The latest episode of Emotional Damages offers a compelling dive into the challenges and advancements in correctional psychiatry. Host Dr. Ambarin Faizi is joined by Dr. Charles Saldanha, Co-Medical Director of fpamed and a forensic psychiatrist with extensive experience in providing care within jails and correctional facilities.

Key Insights from the Episode:

  1. Addressing Mental Health Needs in Jails:
    Dr. Saldanha explains the complexities of delivering psychiatric care in correctional settings, where stress levels are high and resources are often limited. He highlights the need for creative and collaborative approaches to ensure incarcerated individuals receive adequate, if not excellent, care.
  2. Collaboration Between Healthcare and Custody Staff:
    Successful psychiatric care in jails relies on strong partnerships between healthcare teams and custody staff. “Healthcare and custody roles are complementary and needn’t be at odds with each other,” says Dr. Saldanha, emphasizing the importance of communication and shared goals.
  3. The Role of Legal Standards in Shaping Care:
    Landmark cases and consent decrees have played a significant role in improving mental health care standards for incarcerated individuals. Dr. Saldanha discusses how these legal frameworks drive better outcomes and accountability within the correctional system.
  4. Compassion and Continuity of Care:
    Compassion remains a cornerstone of psychiatric care, even in the most challenging environments. Dr. Saldanha highlights how continuity of care—from intake to post-incarceration—is crucial for addressing the mental health needs of individuals in custody.

“This is a group of people that don’t have another option to pivot to, so we owe them adequate, if not excellent care just like we would in any place.” — Dr. Charles Saldanha

Listen to Episode 2 now and subscribe to Emotional Damages on your favorite podcast platform.

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