Prisoners with severe mental health problems will be sent to England for treatment thanks to a new agreement with a hospital trust there.

Government and the Bermuda Hospitals Board signed a "statement of intent" yesterday with the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (BSMHFT).

The Trust will provide care for the prisoners at its Reaside Clinic in Rubery, West Midlands.

Mentally ill inmates are said to make up 12 to 15 percent of Bermuda's prison population.

Yesterday's announcement follows the death of Lorenzo Robinson in July 2008. The 28-year-old paranoid schizophrenic committed suicide in Westgate after battling for six years to secure the specialist overseas treatment that experts said he needed.

Mr. Robinson was incarcerated on the grounds of insanity after stabbing an American tourist in the back with a six-inch blade on Front Street in 2002.

The finding of insanity was based on the evidence of top UK psychiatrist Frank Kelly, who recommended that Mr. Robinson be confined in a "forensic psychiatric unit" in a hospital for the criminally insane. He noted that Bermuda did not have such unit, so recommended he be sent overseas for treatment.

However, Mr. Robinson was not sent overseas and instead remained at Westgate until March 2008 when he appealed to Chief Justice Richard Ground.

The top judge backed his plea for overseas help, branding the conditions at Westgate as unsuitable for his needs and at times disturbing. He also noted evidence that the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, Bermuda's primary psychiatric facility, does not have a secure long-term unit.

However, Mr. Robinson remained in custody at Westgate until his death four months later, when he hanged himself using bedsheets in his cell. His death prompted widespread calls for action over the issue of mentally-ill prisoners.

Heralding yesterday's agreement, Health Minister Walter Roban said: "I am very pleased to be signing this statement of intent, which takes us one step closer to providing services for Bermudians in prison who have severe mental health needs.

"This was a key deliverable of the Mental Health Plan launched in June this year. It is good news that we have taken such a decisive step towards a permanent solution and I look forward to this agreement being formalised in the near future."

He and Labour, Home Affairs and Housing Minister David Burch visited Reaside Clinic this week accompanied by Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute chief operating officer Patrice Dill and chief of psychiatry, Michael Radford.

Sen. Burch said: "On behalf of the Department of Corrections, it gives me great satisfaction to see an agreement in principle signed with BSMHFT. A solution was needed for inmates with specialist mental health needs to ensure they receive appropriate services in an appropriate setting. I am sure the Bermuda community will welcome this development."

Ms Dill added: "Very few people in prison in Bermuda have severe enough mental health issues that they require a specialist facility, which makes it very difficult to maintain an on-Island solution.

"For those few, however, this planned association with BSMHFT is critical. It will enable us to transfer people serving prison sentences with severe mental health issues to a more appropriate setting. While we appreciate it will mean some travel for families, they will have greater comfort that their loved one is receiving the care they need in a secure facility."

The agreement will also provide for teaching and training opportunities for staff, and clinical support and supervision for staff in Bermuda.

The man who was stabbed by Mr. Robinson, Scott Jable, has spoken out in the past on the need for action to help other prisoners with mental problems.

He said of yesterday's news: "It sounds like a step in the right direction, as with anything that affords truly ill people the proper care. It's a shame that this comes too late to help Mr. Robinson. Perhaps if this had been in place during his first incarceration, he would be alive today and I would have one less hole in my back.

"I hope it helps those that need this type of care now and in the future."