Mentally unwell woman in solitary confinement for almost a decade ‘an emergency situation’, Victorian judge warns

The court has heard the woman, who is being held at the Thomas Embling psychiatric hospital, had lashed out at other patients and staff during periods of release from seclusion. Photograph: AAP

One of the most mentally unwell patients in Victoria will deteriorate further if she continues to be held in solitary confinement, where she has been detained for almost a decade, a court has heard.

The Victorian county court judge Nola Karapanagiotidis heard a major review on Wednesday of the detention of the woman under the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act.