Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Accepted
Paragraph: 38
Specific integrated healthcare initiatives show welcome, but limited, progress in prisons
Conclusion
Initiatives such as integrated healthcare, the trauma-informed approach in the women’s estate, SECURESTAIRS in the youth estate, and the intensive programmes used on the Offender Personality Disorder pathway, are all welcome as far as they go. The comparatively few such services as yet provided within the youth estate have been relatively recently introduced.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government agrees on the importance of tackling substance misuse and violence, detailing a zero-tolerance approach and plans from the Prisons Strategy White Paper. They are investing £120 million through the 10-year Cross-Government Drugs Strategy and rolling out enhanced gate security to 42 high-risk sites by March 2022.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
38
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
Regarding integrated healthcare: Integrated healthcare is key to supporting recovery which is why NHS England and NHS Improvement commissions integrated health services using clinically informed service specifications. Each of the specifications, mental health4 and substance misuse,5 both published in 2018, and the primary care specification,6 published in 2020, are currently undergoing a review to ensure they remain current. They are planned to be ready for service procurement from April 2023. Also, building on proposals set out in the NHS Long Term Plan,7 the move to establish Integrated Care Systems in law will enable different parts of the health and care system to work together more effectively, in a way that will improve outcomes and address inequalities. As part of this, NHS England and NHS Improvement is developing guidance to support Integrated Care Systems in meeting their responsibilities for the ongoing healthcare of the prison population pre and post custody. Regarding the youth estate and SECURESTAIRS: Levels of violence within the youth secure estate are too high and the MoJ and HMPPS are determined to improve youth custody, so that children are safer and better able to lead positive lives upon their release. This includes the roll-out of the Custody Support Plan which provides each child with a named officer to work with on a weekly basis to improve trust and consistency. We have also introduced two smaller Enhanced Support Units to support children with the most complex needs through delivery of more intensive rehabilitation work in a therapeutic environment. To de-escalate behaviour and prevent violence, we continue to train and upskill our staff, so they are better able to meet the needs of children in custody. Our approach is underpinned by ‘SECURE STAIRS’, the framework of integrated care jointly led by NHS England, NHS Improvement and the Youth Custody Service (YCS), encompassing education, health, and behavioural support to ensure each young person receives a full needs assessment and a tailored consistent level of care.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗