Stafford

As the Board raised many similar issues in our annual report of the previous year we now find the state of medicine management in its entirety within the prison to be non-comparable to that available to the public within the general community and, more importantly, totally unacceptable on the grounds of resident health safety and hence in need of immediate correction.

A significant number of residents reported being treated unfairly or without respect by staff, with only 65% of survey respondents feeling respected and over 15% reporting negative officer conduct, including instances of bullying and discrimination.

The lack of in-cell phones clearly put pressure on pin phones during the reduced regime (despite the welcome additional £5 pin phone credit and reduction in call costs). The Board was concerned that the national project to fit in-cell telephony may have fallen behind schedule and residents at HMP Stafford will have an even longer wait for this essential method of communication. The Board points out, once again, that HMP Stafford is a national resource with many residents being held some distance away from their home areas. The opportunity of being able to phone home at a time they choose is both fair and humane, the rollout schedule should consider national resources as a priority. The availability of in-cell phones was the subject of many comments in the Residents’ Survey “Six phones at the end of the wing to service the whole wing. You are only allowed 10 minutes to speak with your loved ones, this after waiting for a phone to become free, thus eating into your association time. Why have we not got phones in our cells?” and “The IMB in the last two reports have asked for in-cell phones to no avail. I have been out to hospital five times in these establishment – being extremely ill – and yet there is a 72 hour wait for relatives to be informed. If a relative rings the prison – particularly regarding health – because my wife with my history of illness knows that if I don’t ring there’s a good chance of my being hospitalised - the attitude of some answering are hostile, whilst others are agreeable and empathetic”. The lack of in-cell phones means that residents had to pick between communication or outdoor exercise; they were faced with no other choice. One resident commented, “Getting phones in the pads would be so much better for mental health; other prisons have this. It means that you can prioritise showers and outdoor exercise when you’re out of the pad which is important got mental/physical health. It’s damaging having to pick the lesser of two evils”.

The Population Management Unit (PMU) is not adequately considering the suitability of residents transferred to HMP Stafford, leading to arrivals who cannot manage the prison's stairs or require end-of-life care without prior discussion, placing unfair pressure on staff and detrimentally affecting the resident.

The IEP scheme is poorly understood and perceived as ineffective by over 60% of residents, with some believing it rewards poor behaviour and provides no incentive to progress beyond basic or standard levels.

There is a disparity in call charges, making calls from wing phones more expensive than in-cell phones, placing residents at a disadvantage and negatively impacting their mental health and family contacts.