- Prison healthcare
HMP Bedford
Report from 30 September 2024 assessment
Contents
Judgements
Our view of the service
We accompanied His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) on their independent review of progress and carried out a focused inspection of healthcare services provided by Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) trust at HMP Bedford. HMP Bedford is a Category B, reception and resettlement prison. At our last joint inspection with HMIP in November 2023, we found that the quality of healthcare provided by The Trust at this location required improvement. We issued Requirement Notices in relation to Regulation 10 Dignity and Respect as well as Regulation 11 Need for Consent, of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. We also identified concerns in relation to Regulation 17, Good Governance and Regulation 12, Safe Care and Treatment. The purpose of this focused assessment was to determine if the healthcare services provided by the Trust were meeting the legal requirements of the relevant regulations. At this assessment, we found that improvements had been made, and the Trust was no longer in breach of regulations 10 and 11 but we found them in breach of regulations 12 and 17. We do not currently rate services provided in prisons. We highlight good practice and issues that service providers need to improve and take regulatory action as necessary. Musts The trust must - Ensure that all known incidents are reported in accordance with trust policy. - Ensure that incidents of self-harm relating to mental health are discussed at relevant governance committees and learned from. - Ensure that patients with identified mental health needs are referred and assessed in accordance with timescales. - Ensure that patients displaying mental ill-health are accepted onto the caseload. - Ensure care plans and risk assessments are clear and reflect the risks and needs of the patient. - Ensure that where patients require intervention, these are clearly documented and provision made to offer these interventions.
People's experience of this service
The people we spoke with who had used the mental health service at HMP Bedford told us that staff were kind and caring but there were mixed views as to how quickly they could access services. Some patients spoke positively about the care and treatment they had received. Others had not found it to be effective or to have resulted in an improvement in their mental well-being.