Minister expects the shortage of TBS clinics will continue or worsen

There is a good chance that the shortage of clinics that provide court-mandated psychiatric treatment to convicted criminals (TBS) will continue or even increase in the coming years. Outgoing Justice Minister Franc Weerwind wrote this in a letter to the Tweede Kamer on Friday. "The pressure on the sector is higher than ever before."

A judge can impose a detention order if an offender needs to be treated for a psychological or medical disorder after a crime. This takes place in a closed facility.

Last fall, psychiatric hospitals had 1,637 places available. That is 242 more than five years earlier, and yet in December, there were still around 150 TBS patients waiting in prison for treatment. In the less high-security variants of forensic care, there is less of a shortage.

As a result, in 2022, TBS clinics were short on spots for waiting patients, which meant that the patients were forced to stay in normal prisons for longer periods of time. As a result, the government had to pay these patients tens of thousands of euros in "grievance money" over the next few years, the AD reported.

Judges more often impose TBS or other forensic care, while healthcare institutions have difficulty finding staff, according to a study that the minister has also published. Weerwind stated that "In the worst case, the number of people in detention waiting for the start of TBS treatment will increase, as will the average waiting time for it."