HM Prison and Probation Service
Central Government
Action Taken
HMP Buckley Hall has instructed governors not to accept transferred prisoners on Fridays, pending healthcare changes. First night procedures have been strengthened with 72-hour monitoring and welfare checks. Healthcare staff must notify the orderly officer if prisoners miss appointments. Staff at HMP Haverigg were reminded to confirm transfers with healthcare so records are reassigned promptly. (AI summary)
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Dear Ms Hashmi, Thank you for your Regulation 28 Report of 30 November 2018 following recent inquest into the death of Bradley Fraser Brown at HMP Buckley Hall on 14 August 2017 . know that you will share a copy of this response with Mr Brown's family and would like first to express my condolences for their loss death in custody is a tragedy and the safety of those in our care is my absolute priority_ You have expressed concerns about the transfer of prisoners between prisons on a Friday and at weekends and hOw this may impact on the level of care and support available to them, particularly in respect of Healthcare and Mental Health assessments. understand that NHS England will also be responding directly to your concerns in terms of their healthcare processes and will explain that the new specification for the provision of healthcare at Buckley Hall will include access to mental healthcare 7 days a week: know that you will appreciate the importance of being able to move prisoners around the estate, both to manage population pressures and to ensure that prisoners Way the Every
are located in the appropriate category of prison: Inter prison transfers currently take place from Monday and Friday in accordance with a schedule agreed with the Prison Escort Court Service (PECS): Removing Friday from the schedule would put undue pressure on the remaining four days and increase the risk of late arrivals on those Prisons are always given advance warning of these scheduled transfers and PECS establishments of their anticipated arrival times, so that arrangements can be made_ In terms of weekends, whilst there is provision at a national level for inter prison transfers to be facilitated on a Saturday or Sunday, this will only be done under exceptional circumstances and is extremely rare. Transfers generally only take place over a weekend when an emergency at one prison necessitates a move of prisoners to a different establishment: However, as a result of the concerns you have raised, the Governor at HMP Buckley Hall has instructed all Governors at the establishment that should not enter into local agreements to accept transferred prisoners on a Friday: This will be reviewed once the changes to the provision of healthcare have been embedded. In addition, range of measures has been implemented to ensure that all new arrivals receive the same level of care regardless of when the transfer takes place. First night procedures have been strengthened to ensure that all prisoners arriving at the prison are subject to a 72 period of monitoring, which includes randomly spaced welfare checks during lock up periods_ Challenge Support and Intervention Plan (CSIP) is opened for any new prisoners who have been subject to a period of segregation prior to transfer. This provides for a period of monitoring to ensure that vulnerability or violence is managed appropriately. Healthcare staff have also been instructed to notify the Orderly Officer if any prisoner misses an appointment in the early days , so that reasons for non-attendance can be followed up. If a prisoner refuses to attend, Healthcare will be informed and the actions taken recorded by prison staff. Prior to any transfer there is a requirement for Healthcare staff at the sending establishment to assess each prisoner to ensure that any health concerns recorded and communicated to the receiving prison and to confirm that the prisoner is medically fit to be moved. A notice has been issued to all staff at HMP Haverigg, which was the transferring prison in Mr Brown's case, reminding them to confirm to Healthcare staff any transfer, so that medical records are reassigned promptly in order that are immediately available when the prisoner arrives at the new establishment; Thank you again for bringing these matters of concern to my attention: will ensure that learning from this tragic incident is shared widely across the prison estate_
are located in the appropriate category of prison: Inter prison transfers currently take place from Monday and Friday in accordance with a schedule agreed with the Prison Escort Court Service (PECS): Removing Friday from the schedule would put undue pressure on the remaining four days and increase the risk of late arrivals on those Prisons are always given advance warning of these scheduled transfers and PECS establishments of their anticipated arrival times, so that arrangements can be made_ In terms of weekends, whilst there is provision at a national level for inter prison transfers to be facilitated on a Saturday or Sunday, this will only be done under exceptional circumstances and is extremely rare. Transfers generally only take place over a weekend when an emergency at one prison necessitates a move of prisoners to a different establishment: However, as a result of the concerns you have raised, the Governor at HMP Buckley Hall has instructed all Governors at the establishment that should not enter into local agreements to accept transferred prisoners on a Friday: This will be reviewed once the changes to the provision of healthcare have been embedded. In addition, range of measures has been implemented to ensure that all new arrivals receive the same level of care regardless of when the transfer takes place. First night procedures have been strengthened to ensure that all prisoners arriving at the prison are subject to a 72 period of monitoring, which includes randomly spaced welfare checks during lock up periods_ Challenge Support and Intervention Plan (CSIP) is opened for any new prisoners who have been subject to a period of segregation prior to transfer. This provides for a period of monitoring to ensure that vulnerability or violence is managed appropriately. Healthcare staff have also been instructed to notify the Orderly Officer if any prisoner misses an appointment in the early days , so that reasons for non-attendance can be followed up. If a prisoner refuses to attend, Healthcare will be informed and the actions taken recorded by prison staff. Prior to any transfer there is a requirement for Healthcare staff at the sending establishment to assess each prisoner to ensure that any health concerns recorded and communicated to the receiving prison and to confirm that the prisoner is medically fit to be moved. A notice has been issued to all staff at HMP Haverigg, which was the transferring prison in Mr Brown's case, reminding them to confirm to Healthcare staff any transfer, so that medical records are reassigned promptly in order that are immediately available when the prisoner arrives at the new establishment; Thank you again for bringing these matters of concern to my attention: will ensure that learning from this tragic incident is shared widely across the prison estate_