Prison Healthcare Study

This study has been commissioned by the Health Foundation
For information on how we use data click here

Data collection for study: Autumn 2022  
Publication date:      Winter 2023/4    

Aim:To identify remediable factors in the clinical and organisation of healthcare for people who died from a ‘natural’ or other ‘non-natural’ death whilst detained in prison or were transferred to an acute NHS hospital or hospice, whilst detained.
To produce focused, evidence-based recommendations to improve the commissioning, monitoring, provision and quality of healthcare in prisons, with the aim of preventing avoidable and premature deaths in the future.

Objectives:

Organisational To review:

• The healthcare provision available
• Networks of care/healthcare pathways
• Access to acute NHS hospitals
• Processes/ standards/ systems and impact of transfers between prisons
• Multidisciplinary team working
• The commissioning of services
• Adherence to national clinical guidelines/quality standards relevant to the organisation of services for the medical conditions being treated (e.g. NICE guidelines and quality standards)
• The use of local policies and protocols
• Training for healthcare related matters
• Healthcare commissioning arrangements
• Interface between healthcare and operational staff
• Professional structures, networks and support for prison doctors
• Examples of good practice

Clinical To review:

• The cause of death
• Whether death was thought to be avoidable or premature
• The quality, nature and timeliness of healthcare provision and delivery, including ‘out of hours’ care
• Recognition and treatment of acute medical emergencies and deteriorating clinical conditions
• The quality of multidisciplinary healthcare delivered
• Evidence of healthcare reviews for individuals
• Prescribing and medicines reconciliation by pharmacists
• Adherence to national clinical guidelines/quality standards relevant to the medical conditions being treated (e.g. NICE guidelines and quality standards)
• The quality of drug and alcohol detoxification, including an assessment of dependence
• The content and quality of the NHS commissioned independent clinical review
• PPOs judgment of whether healthcare received was commensurate with that expected in the community.

Participation:

All prisons and hospitals in England and Wales where an adult prisoner (aged 18 or over) has died of a ‘natural’ or ‘other non-natural’ death whist in custody of HMPPS.


Prison Healthcare Staff Survey:
This is a short, anonymous online survey for healthcare professionals working in the prison estate, asking about the delivery of healthcare in prisons and how healthcare could be improved for prisoners. It is essential that we hear the views and experiences of healthcare professionals who interact with prisoners directly. The more responses we receive, the stronger any recommendations they make will be, so please do take the time to contribute, and please share this survey with your colleagues.

Your answers will be completely confidential and anonymous.

The survey can be accessed using this link: https://ncepod.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2gbCiv31qL3Zqmy

This page will be regularly updated, so please check for updates. Any queries relating to this study should be also addressed to prisonhealth@ncepod.org.uk.

Resources:
Her Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service
Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee report ‘Prison Health’ 2018
Nuffield Trust Research on healthcare in prisons