Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Stafford
IMB Annual Report 2023 · Published 4 October 2023
HMP Stafford, a Category C training prison, generally provides safe and humane treatment, with significant improvements in medicines management. However, the report highlights critical issues, including the long-standing and hazardous state of prison roadways, which poses a serious safety risk. Persistent staff shortages continue to disrupt the regime, leading to lost activities, and a self-inflicted death involving an IPP prisoner raised serious questions. Additionally, concerns were noted regarding security compliance, reduced library services, and service delivery from the new visits management contractor.
Positive Findings
HMP Stafford is recognised as a very safe establishment, where prisoners are treated humanely and their health and wellbeing needs are met. Critically, long-standing issues regarding medicines management have finally been addressed. Staff are commended for managing prisoner frustration well during periods of lockdown, preventing disturbances. The establishment is notably clean and tidy, and food receives consistent praise. Positive initiatives like RESTART, supporting 'hard to reach' prisoners, are having a tremendous impact on reintegration, and most prisoners are leaving with accommodation arranged.
Key Concerns
Safety
Repeated
The critically poor and hazardous state of roadways and walkways within the prison, which has been an unaddressed issue for 18 years and poses a significant risk of serious injury to prisoners and staff.
Staffing
Ongoing staff shortages, caused by illness, bed watches, emergency hospital visits, and detached duty directives, leading to frequent lost activities, wing closures, and prisoner frustration.
Safety
Significant security concerns regarding the number of gates/doors found unlocked due to staff not checking properly, and the percentage of staff not wearing body-worn cameras.
Safety
The prison experienced its first self-inflicted death for a long time, involving an IPP prisoner, raising questions about the appropriateness and impact of such sentences.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Reduced library services and extended opening hours due to staffing vacancies, detrimentally affecting prisoner support.
Resettlement/Release
Inconsistent and unsatisfactory service delivery from the new visits management contractor (PACT) during its initial months, causing stress to all involved.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Persistent issues with 'out of stock' catalogue items, causing considerable upset and delays for prisoners.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff shortages due to illness, bed watches, emergency hospital visits, and detached duty directives were the greatest impact on the prison, leading to lost activities and wing closures. Although Stafford's staffing resource is better than many other prisons, the requirement to provide staff for detached duty caused frustration among prisoners. The Senior Leadership Team has focused on key worker sessions, leading to much better results by Q1 2023, with the rate passing 40% for the first time in years.
Healthcare
Healthcare delivery at HMP Stafford is now often praised and comparable to community standards, following a dramatic fall in prisoner concerns. Critically, long-standing issues with medicines management have been resolved, leading to positive results by April 2023. However, 'good practice' initiatives, such as reducing prescribed pain relief drugs during medicine reviews, were not always appreciated by prisoners.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison's normal regime was significantly disrupted by staff shortages, compounded by repeated COVID-19 and legionella outbreaks, leading to lost activities and wing closures. Prisoners expressed frustration at being locked in their cells for reasons outside their control, such as detached duty directives. Despite this, staff effectively managed prisoner frustration, preventing significant disturbances. Purposeful activity is generally well-managed, with only 9% of prisoners unemployed, and the prison successfully printed its first prisoner-led magazine, "Inspire".
Applications to the IMB
Prisoners can apply to their IMB about any aspect of their treatment. This table shows application counts by category.
| Category | Current | Previous | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions | 4 | 9 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 13 | 3 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives schemes, sanctions | 7 | 5 | |
| Equality | 1 | 4 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 9 | 3 | |
| Food and kitchens | 7 | 1 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 34 | 72 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 20 | 5 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 25 | 19 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 5 | 13 | |
| Property within this establishment | 25 | 19 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 20 | 5 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 12 | 12 | — |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 25 | 16 | |
| Transfers | 3 | 2 |
Other IMB Reports for Stafford
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
19 Nov 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 4
Respect: 4
Activity: 3
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.