Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Accepted
Paragraph: 39
Integrated healthcare for prisoners requires expansion to ensure timely access to services
Conclusion
The NHS should expand on its work to commission integrated healthcare across all three estates so that prisoners can access proper physical and mental healthcare services at primary and secondary level as appropriate and without undue delay.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government states Drug and Alcohol Treatment Requirements and secondary care Mental Health Treatment Requirements are already available, with efforts to raise awareness. Through the Community Sentence Treatment Requirements Programme, they are on track to introduce primary care MHTRs to half of England by 2023.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
39
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
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.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗