Source · IMB Annual Report
Thameside
Year: 2022
Published: 24 Nov 2022
Type: Prison · Cat B/C
Population: 1,300
Recommendations: 11
Key concerns
Positive findings
HMP Thameside, a Category B/C prison, saw its population close to its operational capacity of 1,232. While the regime slowly normalized after Covid restrictions, challenges persisted, including a rise in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults (273 total) despite a decrease in staff assaults (168 total). The Board identified significant concerns around the inhumane delays for mental health transfers (average 39 days), inadequate property handling (complaints up 60%), and the unreliability of the cell bell system. Staff shortages, particularly impacting purposeful activity and resettlement services, were partially mitigated by recruitment efforts, though a large cohort of inexperienced staff remains.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 0 | — |
| Self-harm incidents | 501 | 570 |
| Prisoner assaults | 273 | 180 |
| Assaults on staff | 168 | 234 |
| Drug finds | 233 | 243 |
Positive findings
The Board welcomes the prison's focus on initiatives like UoF training, ACCT documentation, and CSIPs, noting continued effective management and increased openness. Positive developments include improved COMP2 and overall complaint systems, with higher timeliness and quality of responses. The introduction of BWVC evidence in adjudications, prompt accommodation repairs, and an upgraded CMS system are also noted. The PIAC is now running more efficiently, and a new incentives scheme is welcomed. The IMB commends staff professionalism in the CSU and generally positive staff-prisoner relations.
Key concerns
Safety
Prisoner on prisoner assaults have increased this year.
Substance Misuse
The Board has been unable to obtain reliable MDT data from the prison on the extent and nature of drug use, which is a major contributory factor to prison violence.
Safety
Repeated
The Board is concerned by the reliability of the emergency cell bell answering system and how many calls go unanswered.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
Complaints about missing property have risen by 60% this year. The Board sees frequent evidence of lack of care and respect for prisoner property. This causes understandable prisoner frustration and needs urgently addressing.
Healthcare
Repeated
Concerns raised by the Board in the previous reporting year – medication issues, complaints handling – have continued this year and were also highlighted in the HMIP inspection report.
Mental Health
Repeated
The Board once again deplores the length of time mentally ill patients must wait for outside transfer to an appropriate secure mental health hospital. This is not humane.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Concerns regarding the limited access to gym for prisoners due to the continued cross deployment of staff.
Staffing
Lack of staffing in the other agencies contracted to provide resettlement services has impacted on the services they can offer.
Resettlement/Release
This cohort did not feel their needs were being met in relation to education, training, employment, debt, finance and housing.
Resettlement/Release
Little or no support for remand prisoners has been available over the reporting year due to the reunification of the probation service.
Staffing
The key worker scheme remains hard to quantify... random sampling of entries by the IMB continues to depict a very varied picture: while a few sessions show meaningful conversations between the prisoner and his key worker, other sessions are clearly just a ‘cut and paste’ version of the previous session.
Equality/Diversity
Black prisoners consistently appear disproportionately more likely than White prisoners to be on the basic incentives scheme level, to be housed in the CSU and to make complaints, and less likely to be on the enhanced incentives scheme level. The Board would welcome more analysis to understand the drivers for this disproportionality in outcomes, and what revised approaches could be adopted.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liaise with NHS England to provide sufficient bed capacity in secure mental health hospitals, in order to avoid the need for prisons to hold mentally ill prisoners longer than the recommended NHS 14-day guideline, a practice which is wholly inhumane. Repeated | Ministry of Justice | |
| 2 | Provide sufficient resourcing for the probation service to ensure adequate support to both sentenced and remand prisoners before and after their release. | Ministry of Justice | |
| 3 | Work with other government departments to provide sufficient resources so that prisoners have adequate resettlement support and guidance on release such as housing and employment which is known to reduce recidivism. | Ministry of Justice | |
| 4 | For many years IMBs have raised the continuing problems associated with the transfer of prisoner property. This is due to inefficient processing systems and inadequate and insufficient storage in transfer vehicles across the prison estate. Apart from the distress and frustration this causes prisoners, these losses also lead to expensive but avoidable compensation claims. A national solution is urgently needed to tackle this problem. Repeated | HMPPS | |
| 5 | There is a lack of available places within the prison estate to enable reception prisons such as Thameside to transfer category D and prisoners on longer sentences to establishments where their needs will be met more appropriately. | HMPPS | |
| 6 | Better management of the contracts of outside agencies including healthcare, education, housing, resettlement and probation is needed to address the shortcomings in the delivery of these services. | HMPPS | |
| 7 | Improve the system for handling prisoner property, especially within the reception area (see section 5.8). | Governor / Director | |
| 8 | More rigorous monitoring and analysis of cell bell data, especially data covering night-time calls, and address the system’s unreliability (see section 5.1). Repeated | Governor / Director | |
| 9 | More focused analysis of the data collected across all departments to inform and improve planning. | Governor / Director | |
| 10 | Improve the key worker scheme to ensure that the contact between prisoners and key workers becomes more effective and meaningful (see section 5.3). | Governor / Director | |
| 11 | Address Listener call-out issues across the houseblocks (see section 4.2). Repeated | Governor / Director |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (including transfers) | 45 | 38 |
| Allegation against staff | 7 | 5 |
| Assault | 4 | 5 |
| Complaints procedure | 26 | 19 |
| Correspondence | 10 | 6 |
| Discrimination | 2 | 2 |
| Drugs & alcohol | 1 | 2 |
| Education & training | 4 | 3 |
| Employment | 0 | 1 |
| Family links (including visits) | 12 | 16 |
| Food | 5 | 8 |
| Healthcare | 77 | 54 |
| Legal | 30 | 23 |
| Money & property | 51 | 22 |
| Other | 18 | 18 |
| Personal safety (including bullying) | 12 | 11 |
| Privileges & incentives | 17 | 9 |
| Race relations | 1 | 0 |
| Religion | 0 | 0 |
| Security category | 0 | 0 |
| Sentence management | 3 | 1 |
| Sexual behaviour | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 328 | 243 |
| Unsuitable for location | 1 | 0 |
| Work, pay, activities | 2 | 3 |
Related inspections & investigations
20 Jul 2023
PFD
Stephen Weatherley · Alcohol, drugs medication related deaths | State Custody related deaths
Other reports for Thameside
Report details
- Establishment
- Thameside
- Type
- Prison · Cat B/C
- Report year
- 2022
- Published
- 24 November 2022
- Responsible body
- HMP Thameside
- Recommendations
- 11
- MoJ rating (2024/25)
- 2 — Concern
Population
| Population | 1,300 |
| Operational capacity | 1,232 |
Service providers
Accommodation services
St Mungo’s
Careers advice
The Forward Trust
Drug and alcohol misuse
Turning Point
Education
Novus
Facilities management
Serco FM
Healthcare
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Job and benefits support
Jobcentre Plus
Offender management, gangs and rehabilitation
Catch22
Prison Operator
Serco Group plc
Resettlement services
Probation service
Social care
Change Grow Live (CGL)