Martin Bryant suicide bid a 'cry for help'

Another attempt by Martin Bryant, Australia's worst mass murderer to take his life in Tasmania's Risdon prison was a cry for help and should have been stopped by management, a prisoner advocate says.

Martin Bryant was reportedly found in a pool of blood in the jail after slashing his wrist.

He was treated at Royal Hobart Hospital on Sunday for "non life threatening" injuries and has been returned to Risdon.

Prison Action Reform legal adviser Greg Barns said bosses at the controversial jail should have learned from the killer's three previous suicide bids.

Martin Bryant, who is serving 35 life sentences for killing 35 people at Port Arthur in 1996, caused public outrage earlier this year by receiving mental health treatment at the Wilfred Lopes mental health centre at the prison.

Mr Barns said Bryant has been returned to maximum security.

"This is now the fourth occasion in which he (Bryant) has attempted to take his own life," Mr Barns said.

"One would have hoped that prison authorities were on a constant watch to make sure his personal safety was not being jeopardised.

"There is an understandable community anger and lack of public sympathy for Martin Bryant given the events of Port Arthur in 1996.

"On the other hand, his punishment is life imprisonment and he is entitled to expect an adequate level of mental and physical health care and he is obviously a prisoner at risk of suicide."

Tasmania's Director of Prisons Graeme Barber has confirmed that a high profile prisoner was treated for a self-inflicted injury.

Mr Barns said convicted murderer Simon Deverell stabbed himself in the chest in the medium security section of the jail on Friday.

"This is the second self-harm incident we have had at the prison within 48 hours," he said.

"It raises serious questions about the effectiveness of self-harm immunisation strategies at Risdon," Mr Barns said.

"The Tasmanian prison service is doing itself no favours by refusing to be more transparent about the incidents on Friday and Sunday.

"This is the worst prison in Australia and there just doesn't seem to be any improvement in conditions for prisoners, the way prisoners are treated and introducing some decent rehabilitation programs."

Mr Barns said the state government needed to hold an independent inquiry into prison management.

"We need to look at why we have the highest recidivism rate in Australia at 47 per cent, that is almost one in two prisoners going back inside after they are released.

"We have got a brand new prison facility out there at Risden yet we still have got the same sorts of problems that we had in the old prison, so bricks and mortar hasn't fixed it."

He said prison management culture and rehabilitation were key issues.

"We also need to look very closely at non-custodial alternatives for those young offenders and offenders getting short jail terms," Mr Barns said.