Mental health services available to prisoners in Tasmania are comparatively low, an inquest into an inmate's death has been told.
Robert Gerard, 48, killed himself at Risdon Prison on May 23, 2022, while in custody for allegedly murdering a man and seriously injuring a woman.
An inquest, which began on Wednesday, was told Gerard had longstanding mental health issues which were "up and down" during previous stints in jail.
It will examine issues including policies around reducing the risk of self-harm and whether Gerard should have been transferred to a specialist mental health prison facility.
Tasmania's forensic mental health service deputy director Raj Darjee, who has worked in the UK, said the level of mental health support for prisoners in the state was among the lowest he'd come across.
Dr Rajee said there was one permanent psychiatrist working in the prison, as well as one psychiatric nurse and one other nurse.
He said there were 80-90 mental health patients in the prison, which was a "big case load".
Dr Rajee said there had been reviews in 2017 and 2019 which recommended employing 12-15 mental health staff.
At the time of his death, Gerard was on a mental health order.
Director of Prisons Ian Thomas said there was a "philosophical argument" for employing more mental health services at Risdon.
He said mental health teams did a great job with the resources available and there needed to be a balance to ensure specialist positions could be staffed ongoing.
Mr Thomas said a recommendation made by a coroner in 2017 aimed at reducing the risk of self-harm in relation to specific items had been partially implemented.
He said each prisoner's access to certain items was based on an individual risk assessment.
Dr Ruchi Bhalla, who treated Gerard while he was in prison, said he mentioned being in a hopeless situation but also said he wasn't considering self-harm.
Dr Bhalla said Gerard didn't meet the criteria for an urgent transfer to the specialist prison mental health facility, partially because he would have been engaging with a support nurse every two weeks.
The inquest continues.
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