Nobody’s Listening: What families say about prison healthcare

By Polly Wright (P. Wright Consultancy).

For the purposes of this report we refer to the individual in custody as the ‘patient’, as their experiences are considered in terms of their health and wellbeing needs. Families’ experience of the impact of the criminal justice system on the health and wellbeing of patients.

Messages from families Where patients present complex and/or significant mental health needs, alternative diversionary treatment should be more readily considered (in line with Public Protection requirements). This should be informed by all agencies currently working with the patient, as well as their family/ significant others (where appropriate). Care not custody required Many of the families consulted felt that their loved ones’ involvement in the criminal justice system was as a result of persistent, systemic failure of services (education, social care, health and/or criminal justice) to meet their needs. Almost a third of families described their loved one as having an acute mental health crisis immediately prior to their contact with the criminal justice system. While families acknowledged patients had committed a criminal offence, many felt that the criminal justice system had failed to effectively consider alternative diversionary treatment appropriate to the patients’ needs. Potential for positive health outcomes Families acknowledged that when the criminal justice system works well, positive health outcomes can be achieved and for some patients, contact with the criminal justice system had had a positive impact as it had provided: consistent access to ongoing support the opportunity to receive mental health diagnosis and treatment that had not been forthcoming in the community removal of risks associated with previous lifestyle quicker access to healthcare access to peer support. Custody as a barrier to positive health outcomes The majority of families witnessed a significant decline in their loved ones’ mental and physical health during their custodial sentence. They attributed this to numerous and inter-related systemic factors including: the pr

London: PACT (Prison Advice and Care Trust) 2023. 80p.