Prisoner experiences in HMP Durham

Healthwatch Newcastle wanted to understand prisoners’ experience of healthcare services.  HMP Durham agreed to them undertaking this research.  They organised 2 focus groups during the period 1 to 31 January 2017. 18 male prisoners took part.

First-time prisoners in particular have difficulty in finding information about health and support services. Some respondents said they were not confident that they knew what services were available to them. On a positive note many prisoners were satisfied with the help and support they received from the DART team, stating that help was effective and timely. The general support received from nursing staff was also seen to be positive.

Healthwatch Newcastle identified further areas for research on:

• Mental health services
• Food and nutrition
• Exercise
• Timely referrals to GP/mental health services
• Delays in getting access to prescribed medication.

The report contains 4 recommendations about better information for new prisoners about healthcare available to them; recruiting more peer support workers to help new prisoners settle in; communicate about services available and work in partnership with outside agencies to improve a new prisoner’s introduction to the criminal justice system.