Ministers announce UK prison healthcare trailblazers

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 22 Mar 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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18 PCTs (Primary Care Trusts) to lead the way in delivering healthcare from April 2004.

Ministers have today announced 18 Primary Care Trusts that will be given lead responsibility for healthcare services in their local prisons from April 2004. Front line responsibility for prison health in all English prisons will have transferred to local PCTs by 1 April 2006.

Covering 34 prisons across England, the 18 PCTs have demonstrated a clear understanding of the health needs of their local prison populations and have in place robust plans to bring the prison's healthcare in line with the wider NHS. Transfer of relevant funds will take place for the start of the 2004/05 financial year.

Health Minister Stephen Ladyman said:

"This transfer will enable PCTs to use their considerable knowledge and experience to tackle some of the wider health and social exclusion problems such as mental health, substance misuse and communicable diseases, and will bring about real health improvements. If we can tackle these problems while people are in prison we can have a real impact on helping people settle into the community on release and reduce reoffending. These 18 pioneering PCTs are playing a key role in testing out new health partnerships between local prisons and the NHS and ensuring that the arrangements are robust and fit for the future."

Paul Goggins, Minister for Correctional Services said:

"This is a complex and challenging task. The Prison Service is delighted that so many local partnerships between prisons and the NHS have shown they have the right arrangements in place to take forward this critical agenda on behalf of the rest of both services."

Prison-PCT partnerships completed their first Prison Health Delivery Plan (modelled on the Local Delivery Plans used across the NHS) to set out modernisation proposals and action plans for healthcare in the prisons. This is the first step towards prison health becoming part of the wider NHS planning and performance management framework in 2006.

The PCTs are all part of a Prison Health Development Network of 23 PCTs and 44 prisons set up to share best practice and problem solving to make the transition as smooth as possible. The Network will continue to share learning with the remaining prisons and PCTs to prepare the next wave of transfers scheduled for April 2005.

Notes to editor

1. The Home Office announced on 25 September 2002 that funding responsibility for healthcare within the Prison Service would become part of the NHS no later than 1 April 2006.

2. The 18 PCTs carried out a self-assessment against six criteria for readiness - local leadership, partnership working, modernisation plans, finance, workforce and sharing learning. Regional Prison Health leads consulted with Area Managers, Strategic Health Authorities and, where applicable, the Youth Justice Board, before putting forward recommendations to Ministers.

3. Of the 23 partnerships in the Prison Health Development Network, five faced particularly complex resource or capacity issues and asked to defer their transfer for a year to gain a greater depth of understanding of the issues involved. They will remain in the Network to share their experience and benefit from the feedback from other sites.

4. The 18 first wave partnerships are:

PCT - Castlepoint & Rochford
Prison - Bullwood Hall

PCT - Doncaster & East
Prison - Lindholme
Prison - Moorland

PCT - Durham & Chester-le-Street
Prison - Frankland
Prison - Durham
Prison - Low Newton

PCT - Exeter
Prison - Channings Wood
Prison - Dartmoor
Prison - Exeter

PCT - Heart of Birmingham
Prison - Birmingham

PCT - Hounslow
Prison - Feltham

PCT - Huntingdon
Prison - Littlehey

PCT - Islington
Prison - Holloway
Prison - Pentonville

PCT - Lambeth
Prison - Brixton

PCT - Leeds West
Prison - Leeds

PCT - North Liverpool
Prison - Liverpool

PCT - Northumberland
Prison - Acklington
Castington

PCT - Reading
Prison - Reading

PCT - Richmond & Twickenham
Prison - Latchmere House

PCT - South West Dorset
Prison - Dorchester
Prison - Guys Marsh
Prison - Portland
Prison - Shepton Mallet
Prison - The Verne
Prison - Weare

PCT - Suffolk Coast
Prison - Hollesley Bay
Prison - Warren Hill

PCT - Swale
Prison - Elmley
Prison - Standford Hill
Prison - Swaleside

PCT - West Lincolnshire
Prison - Lincoln
Prison - Morton Hal

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