This article was published in September, 2018, HealthInvestor. Comment from Clare Connell, CEO, Connell Consulting.
MPs are set to investigate growing health inequalities within the justice system as concerns mount over a developing healthcare crisis in prisons and young offender institutions (YOIs). Rising levels of suicide, self-harm, drug use, violence and mental ill health have placed intense pressure on prison healthcare services, leaving staff overstretched and prisoners’ needs increasingly unmet.
In response, the Health & Social Care Committee has launched a Prison Healthcare Inquiry to assess how effectively current services support prisoners’ health and to explore solutions to the worsening shortage of healthcare staff. Early recommendations suggest that ring-fenced funding could help improve the recruitment and retention of prison nurses, while proposals for a national council covering non-NHS staff may strengthen the role of employment agencies within prison healthcare.
Organisations such as the Howard League and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have highlighted the system’s heavy reliance on agency staff due to recruitment difficulties. Inspectorate reports consistently point to staff shortages as a major cause of gaps in care. These shortages have serious consequences: many prisoners with mental health needs receive no professional support, and nursing staff frequently report that care is compromised because there are too few colleagues on shift.
The inquiry comes at a critical time. Over the past decade, prisons have seen sharp increases in suicide, violence and self-injury, alongside overcrowding and complex health needs among inmates. Poor working conditions, limited training opportunities and rising assaults on staff have driven many nurses to leave the sector.
As MPs examine these issues, the inquiry is expected to play a key role in shaping future policy and investment, with the aim of stabilising the prison healthcare workforce and improving care for some of the most vulnerable people in society.