Recommendation 1
Can the Minister work with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure women with serious mental health issues in the criminal justice system are directed to an appropriate pathway?
Source · IMB Annual Report
Peterborough (women)
AI-generated report summary HMP/YOI Peterborough (Women) is generally well-led, offering a disciplined and fair regime with humane treatment. Key strengths include improved safety focus, reduced self-harm (despite a prolific individual temporarily skewing numbers), and increased education attendance. However, significant concerns remain regarding the influx of severely mentally ill prisoners not receiving appropriate external care, delays in prescribed medication, and inconsistencies in key work delivery and regime due to staff shortages. The Board highlights challenges in resettlement, particularly accommodation, and issues with delays in offender management processes.
Year: 2023
Published: 20 Oct 2023
Type: Prison · Cat women's, YOI
Recommendations: 5
Key concerns
Positive findings
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 1 | — |
| Self-harm incidents | 2,882 | 1,154 |
| Prisoner assaults | 23 | 29 |
| Assaults on staff | 65 | 43 |
| Use of force | 270 | 238 |
Positive findings
AI-generated summaryThe Board has found HMP Peterborough to be generally well led and managed, with a disciplined, structured and fair regime. Prisoners are treated with respect, care and compassion. There has been a maintained focus on safety, with much improved multi-disciplinary working, and the staff of the Healthcare Unit are commended for their vigilance and compassion. A welcome decrease in positive results from mandatory drug tests was noted. Accommodation, facilities, food, and canteen services are generally good, and segregation is well managed. Education attendance has increased post-Covid-19, and special educational needs (SEND) are well embedded. Priority is given to maintaining family links and resettling prisoners into accommodation.
Key concerns
2 The Board has very strong concerns about the provision of care for those prisoners who show extreme behaviours, and who are remanded or sentenced to custody (this may include those who may have been detained in prison as a place of safety by courts) rather than being diverted into appropriate healthcare provision such as treatment in hospital under the Mental Health Act.
Prisoners can be left without their prescribed medications for days and in some cases weeks without discussion or communication. This arises because the reception/medical team can be late processing prescribed medication that comes in with prisoners either when new to custody, transferring to the prison, returning from medical appointments or on recall. Prisoners then have to find help to resolve the problem through their key worker, wing officers and via applications (written representations from prisoners) to the Board. Missing medication or delays in receiving it is a factor in prisoners threatening to self-harm and self-harming.
Climate control continues to be a concern when the prevailing weather is hot or cold, with inadequate fan provision in the summer and heating issues arising from the boiler in the winter.
From April to September 2022 the weekly average compliance sessions set against target population was 93%. From October 2022 to the beginning of March 2023 this decreased to an average of 58.6% with a noticeable decline in early 2023.
Concerning delays in arranging assessment and admission to hospital for mentally unwell prisoners, and a perceived shortfall in psychiatric coverage.
This reflects a shorter time early in the reporting year and some ongoing staff shortages requiring some curtailment of regime, particularly at weekends.
Delays in completion of risk assessments for Home Detention Curfew (HDC) and Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) applications due to Community Offender Management (COM) input.
Securing ample post-release accommodation remains a significant challenge, despite exceeding the target percentage.
Several key items of kitchen equipment are unserviceable, causing significant strain on the kitchen to produce a full menu.
Insufficient smaller/petite size clothing available in reception, impacting prisoners' self-esteem and well-being.
Verbal complaints that food is bland and 'stodgy', with requests for more salads and fruit.
Social video calls remained popular throughout, although now that face-to-face visits are the norm, there are insufficient staff resources to process applications consistently and promptly. The Board has drawn this to management’s attention.
There have been several occasions when postal delays have been a significant feature of the applications received by the Board, which can cause distress or frustration. This appears to be caused by staff shortages.
Recommendations
Recommendation 2
Can the Minister take action to prevent prisons being deemed a place of safety for women with serious mental health issues?
Recommendation 3
What steps is the Service taking to ensure that the Probation Service is adequately staffed, especially in respect of Community Offender Managers?
Recommendation 4
Can the Director take steps to ensure women’s regime is not curtailed because of staff shortages?
Recommendation 5
Can the Director continue to focus on embedding quality key work?
Government response
Coverage improved and refresher training delivered to key workers. Further work needed to embed.
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions | 21 | 12 |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 9 | 10 |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 0 | 4 |
| Equality | 5 | 15 |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 19 | 6 |
| Food and kitchens | 2 | 3 |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 54 | 92 |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 21 | 23 |
| Miscellaneous | 24 | 4 |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 4 | 3 |
| Property within the establishment | 17 | 29 |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 14 | 7 |
| Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 24 | 15 |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 48 | 39 |
| Transfers | 4 | 0 |
Related inspections & investigations
Other reports for Peterborough (women)
· Self-harm 1,355
· Concerns