91Èȱ¬

39 year old Joanna Roberts has had paranoid schizophrenia for most of her adult life. She spent the first six years of her illness inside secure hospitals, sometimes far away from her family and friends in Bridgend.

"I had one phone call a week from my grandmother - that's the only contact we had apart from letters."

Two decades later, are we any better off when it comes to treating some of our most vulnerable people?

One in a hundred people can suffer from a psychotic episode at some point in their life. This involves hearing voices, having hallucinations, and feeling paranoid.

In some cases it can be permanent, frightening and debilitating. But with the right level of treatment, it is possible to lead a productive and happy life.

Dr Bridget Craddock is Jo's psychiatrist:

"What we do know is that the earlier you intervene, usually the less medication is needed and the more social norms can be maintained. It's not necessary to interrupt somebody's education just because they've become psychotic."

In 2005, a report carried out by the Wales Audit Office found that mental health services for Wales were patchy. The Welsh Assembly Government responded by setting targets for specialist teams across the country. It will also soon publish a Strategic Review of Secure Services, which many hope will pave the way for change.

Shadow Health Minister Jonathan Morgan has taken up the cause and has asked for figures of how many people are currently being treated in secure hospitals outside Wales.

"I'm hoping that we'll get that data as quickly as possibly because families in Wales need to have confidence and security that their loved ones are being looked after in the best way possible.

I would be very worried if it's shown that the Assembly government is paying for people to be treated for units in England which are completely unsuitable."

91Èȱ¬ Wales' Eye on Wales has obtained latest figures which indicate that around 40% Welsh patients end up in secure hospitals over the border.

One of the biggest problems in Wales is the lack of beds in low secure hospitals.

Bill Walden Jones is the Chief Executive of Hafal, an organisation that works with people with severe mental illness:

"Wales is behind the times. There's been a longstanding problem of failure to commission the full pathway of full services, most particularly low secure services. This has a blocking effect...It's bad humane practice, it's also a bad use of funding."

Patients and professionals alike are hoping that the forthcoming Review of Secure Services will not only bring more beds to Wales, but will simplify the process in which they're funded.

Eye On Wales listens to Jo's story. Have services have got any better since she first got ill two decades ago, and can the forthcoming Review of Secure Services meet patients and professionals' expectations?