The basics of prison healthcare

All prisons have healthcare services on the inside, and some also have healthcare wings with in-patient beds. Each prison is different and exactly what’s available will vary, but there will always be a team of health professionals inside the prison whose job is to support your loved one’s health.

There should be services available to support your loved one’s mental and physical health, as well as dentistry services and services for eyes and vision. The healthcare team should prescribe your loved one with any medicines they need and make sure they receive them. The nature of a prison environment can create challenges at times, however your loved one still has rights to access care whilst they are in custody.

If your loved one needs to leave prison to go to hospital, the prison officers will have to escort your loved one to the hospital. This is to make sure that prisoners don’t escape and get taken back to prison after they’ve received the treatment they need.

The doctors, nurses and other clinicians in prison will be fully qualified and trained, just like any other health professional. They have to follow the same rules and regulations as other health professionals to make sure that the care they give is high-quality and safe.

In England, prison healthcare is commissioned (or paid for) by NHS England. Healthcare provider organisations compete to win contracts from NHS England. The healthcare providers employ and manage the healthcare staff who deliver the services inside the prisons - they aren't employed by the prison itself. Each prison will have a main healthcare provider and may also have specialist providers for services such as dental care or support with drugs and alcohol.

In Wales, overall responsibility for the development of prison healthcare in public sector prisons is devolved to the Welsh Government. Health services in public sector prisons are provided by NHS Wales and delivered via local health boards.

Within the first 24 hours of arriving in prison, your loved one should receive an initial health care assessment from a health professional. This should identify their immediate needs such as ongoing medication, requirements for physical or mental health problems or treatment linked to drug or alcohol withdrawal.

Your loved one’s medical records should be transferred from the community to the prison’s healthcare team, as long as your loved one has given consent for this. Historically there have been some challenges with this process at times, so it may be worth checking that your loved one’s GP or community team have been able to send the relevant records into the prison.

Your loved one won’t be allowed to take their own medication into the prison from home. They’ll need to get a fresh prescription from the prison healthcare team and have the medicines given to them from inside the prison.  

Within seven days of entering the prison, your loved one should have a follow-up healthcare appointment. This should address any issues raised at the initial screening that require ongoing input, meet more general health care needs and give them advice on staying healthy in prison.

Your loved one will be expected to make an application, or ‘app’, when they want to receive support with their health. Some prisons have app forms on paper that your loved one should be able to access, complete and send in from their wing. Other prisons enable people in prison to make app using electronic kiosks.

In some prisons, the kiosks have translations of the app forms in different languages. If your loved one struggles with reading and writing, they should speak to their wing officer who may be able to help them find support.

Sometimes the staff in prison will notice that your loved one requires support with their health and either encourage them to make an app or make a referral for them. However, in general, your loved one is responsible for taking the initiative and requesting healthcare support for themselves.