The recent tragic deaths at Thomas Embling Forensic Hospital have shocked the wider community, as well as those more closely involved. However, it is important to realise that our reaction is due in part to the rarity of an event such as this.

The vast majority of people living with mental illness – one in five of us – live quiet, ordinary lives (while often managing distressing and disabling symptoms), and research suggests that those receiving effective treatment for mental health problems are no more violent than anyone else. Far from the stereotypical villain so familiar from the movies, the typical Australian with a mental illness is more likely to be the person sitting next to you on the train as you go home this evening, peacefully looking out of the window and wondering what to cook for tea. It might even be you, or someone in your family.

All of us are entitled to effective treatment for mental as well as physical health problems, promptly, and for as long as is needed. When this help hasn't been available, though, there may be occasions when people with untreated symptoms come to public notice for criminal behaviour. In this situation, it is the lucky ones who end up in a secure forensic hospital such as Thomas Embling, rather than the general prison system. For many patients at the hospital, it is the first time they have received the expert treatment and support they have desperately needed – and that community mental health services have not been able, for a variety of funding and staffing reasons, to provide.

A thorough and comprehensive inquiry is essential to establish the reasons for this tragic event, and if anything could have been done to prevent it. Families and friends of all patients and staff at the hospital need to be reassured that the hospital is a safe and secure environment for everyone. But make no mistake, Thomas Embling is regarded as a world-class facility that provides a gold standard for forensic care in Australia and internationally. We have to ensure, however, that it continues to provide the services and treatments we expect. As a community, we must be careful not to over-react, therefore, and to fully understand the nature of its service: as a secure facility, which also has a role in preparing those patients well enough to return to a safe life in the community to do so, and ensuring they then continue to receive the treatment and support that keeps them well.

Barbara Hocking is executive director of SANE Australia, a national charity working for a better life for people affected by mental illness through education, applied research and campaigning for improved services and attitudes. For further information, advice and referral SANE Helpline 1800 18 SANE (7263) or www.sane.org