Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
5th Report - Mental health in prison
Justice Committee
HC 72
Published 29 September 2021
Recommendations
21
Accepted in Part
Para 79
Increase immediate availability of mental health inpatient beds for prisoners facing transfer difficulties.
Recommendation
The Ministry of Justice should work with the Department for Health and Social Care and the NHS to increase immediately the availability of mental health inpatient beds for prisoners from those prisons that have the most difficulty transferring prisoners within …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges delays in transfers and is implementing revised guidance, committing to a 28-day statutory time limit for transfers once guidance is embedded. They also cite investment in community mental health services and the NHS Long Term Plan aiming to improve overall access to inpatient services.
Ministry of Justice
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22
Accepted in Part
Para 80
Publish monthly data on prisoners awaiting mental health inpatient transfers, including waiting times.
Recommendation
HMPPS and the NHS should gather and publish monthly information for every establishment (without naming establishments to protect patient confidentiality) on the number of prisoners awaiting transfers to inpatient care for mental illness and for how long they have been …
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Government Response Summary
The government states they already gather and monitor monthly data on transfers, using it to address delays, but explicitly rejects publishing this data publicly due to patient confidentiality concerns.
Ministry of Justice
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29
Accepted in Part
Learning from RECONNECT pathfinders and partnership pilots needs swift acceleration and publication.
Recommendation
The NHS should learn early lessons swiftly from its RECONNECT pathfinder projects and accelerate roll-out of the most important features across all prisons in the interim between now and 2024 when it intends to have completed the full roll-out. Similarly, …
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Government Response Summary
The government confirms a 'Lessons Learned' exercise for RECONNECT pathfinders has been done and a full evaluation is commissioned. For Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators, a process evaluation is underway with a report due Autumn 2022, and expansion to all probation regions is intended by 2024/25.
Ministry of Justice
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