Prison
Cat C training/resettlement
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Oakwood
IMB Annual Report 2023 · Published 5 September 2023
HMP Oakwood, a Category C training and resettlement prison, reported a generally safe and respectful environment for the year ending March 2023, with reductions in self-harm and violent incidents. Healthcare provision by Practice Plus Group was equivalent to community standards, though mental health services faced challenges. Key concerns included persistent issues with food quality and servery hygiene, property losses, underperforming key worker sessions, and delays in mental health transfers due to a lack of secure placements.
Positive Findings
The Board commends the well-maintained, clean environment and generally good staff-prisoner relationships, noting a significant reduction in self-harm, prisoner-on-prisoner violence, and assaults on staff. Healthcare provision by Practice Plus Group (PPG) is equivalent to community standards, with positive initiatives like Patient Experience Lead clinics and various health promotion programs. Segregation Unit (CSU) staff are praised for their respectful and supportive approach. The prison also benefits from a new Employability Hub and strong peer-led initiatives, with the Chaplaincy Team providing first-class support.
Key Concerns
Mental Health
Repeated
The lack of availability of forensic, secure mental health places, resulting in prisoners with complex needs remaining in the Segregation Unit (CSU) beyond the stipulated 28 days without adequate support.
Food/Catering
Repeated
Persistent issues with food provision, including concerns about quality, portion sizes, servery hygiene, broken equipment, and an ineffective complaints monitoring system for food.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Ongoing problems with prisoner property losses, particularly during transfers and within the establishment, indicating a lack of adherence to the Prisoner Property Policy Framework.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Challenges within the key worker system, with significantly fewer sessions delivered than targeted and concerns about the quality and meaningfulness of these interactions.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Concerns regarding the quality and delivery of some education courses provided by Novus, coupled with difficulties for prisoners in securing available places.
Complaints/Property
A high percentage (17%) of adjudications being dismissed or not proceeded with, suggesting potential issues with the reporting or investigation process.
Complaints/Property
Prisoners' confusion about the distinction between complaints and requests, alongside variable quality and legibility in complaint responses.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The prison proactively recruited staff, with 307 starters and 318 leavers, increasing badged houseblock staff from 244 to 274. However, the key worker system remains a work in progress, delivering 33,043 sessions against a target of 52,337, and concerns persist about the quality of case notes. Staffing constraints also impacted emergency escorts and weekend regimes. Recruitment for a psychologist proved challenging, with the vacancy remaining for the entire reporting period.
Healthcare
Practice Plus Group continues to provide healthcare equivalent to community standards, introducing initiatives such as the Patient Experience Lead's Concerns Clinic and a discharge lounge for releasing prisoners. Challenges include a lack of escort staff impacting emergency transfers and a significant dental waiting list. A major concern is the sustained vacancy for a psychologist and protracted delays in mental health transfers to secure facilities, leading to complex cases remaining in the Segregation Unit (CSU) beyond the stipulated 28 days.
Regime & Daily Life
The daily regime and time out of cell are regularly reviewed, though weekend and Bank Holiday regimes are sometimes affected by staffing constraints. Food provision and servery hygiene remain significant, recurring concerns, with complaints about quality, portion sizes, equipment failures, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) usage. While education and vocational training places are generally well-allocated, the quality of some courses and the availability of places raise concerns.
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 | 47 | 37 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 12 | 8 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 5 | 14 | |
| Equality | 27 | 10 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 12 | 24 | |
| Food and kitchens | 27 | 9 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 98 | 93 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 27 | 9 | |
| Miscellaneous | 131 | 69 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 71 | 65 | |
| Property within the establishment | 56 | 26 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 29 | 35 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 76 | 56 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 88 | 38 | |
| Transfers | 26 | 10 |
Recommendations (9)
Other: 1
HMPPS: 1
Governor / Director: 7
5 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
The Board is concerned that there has been a vacancy for a Psychologist for the duration of the reporting period. A campaign to recruit a Psychologist is ongoing but reports indicate that recruitment is difficult, with too few Psychologists who are either available or willing to work within a prison environment. The career pathway, training and recruitment of Psychologists should be addressed to increase the numbers and promote a positive and attractive career pathway within the Prison Service.
Other
(minister)
Mental Health
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. addressed
Since the implementation of the Prisoner Property Policy Framework on 5th September 2022, the Board remains concerned that it is still seeing a lack of adherence to the policy, particularly with missing property from incoming prisoners. Can this ongoing concern be addressed?
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 3
With 17% of adjudications either dismissed or not proceeded with, a review of the reasons for dismissal or not proceeded with should be considered, with a view to reducing the percentage.
Governor / Director
Discipline
Recommendation 4
The Board is concerned that prisoners still do not appear to understand the difference between a complaint and a request. Can the Director consider an awareness campaign to better inform the prisoners of the process?
Governor / Director
Complaints
Recommendation 5
Can the Director consider what further steps can be taken, in addition to quality checks that are already being carried out, to improve the quality and legibility of the responses to complaints? Some replies neither address the complaint nor indicate what follow up has been completed.
Governor / Director
Complaints
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can the Director consider what steps can be taken to ensure that food complaints are monitored by the complaints process? In addition, can the Director take steps to ensure that the complaints books that should be held on each of the serveries are available and that they are monitored by Aramark? Can the Director consider action to ensure that all complaints regarding food submitted to Aramark via the kiosks are monitored and responded to?
Governor / Director
Food
Recommendation 7
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can the Director take steps to address the standard of hygiene on the serveries? Issues of dirty or incomplete Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are regularly reported on the Board’s Rota Report, as are concerns about missing or broken equipment. Repairs to broken kitchen equipment are often prolonged.
Governor / Director
Food
Recommendation 8
Repeated
As noted in Section 5.3, the number of key worker sessions delivered during the reporting year was significantly below target. Can the Director consider setting targets, which are more realistic? Is the Director confident that key worker resources are sufficient to meet targets going forward?
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 9
At times key worker case notes indicate a tick box approach to the sessions. Can the Director consider how the quality of key worker sessions can be improved to ensure that meaningful discussions take place with prisoners?
Governor / Director
Staffing
Other IMB Reports for Oakwood
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
9 Apr 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 4
Respect: 4
Activity: 4
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.