Prison
Cat High Security, Category A/B
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Wakefield
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 3 March 2023
HMP Wakefield, a high-security prison for men, is generally considered safe but experienced increases in assaults and use of force. Key concerns include persistent issues with mental health transfers, a lack of robust healthcare complaints processes, and the absence of in-cell telephony. The Board also highlighted unsatisfactory property management and insufficient purposeful activity for prisoners.
Positive Findings
The Board generally considers HMP Wakefield to be a safe prison where prisoners are treated humanely and consistently with OPCAT expectations. The prison invested in equipment for time out of cell and its reception arrangements are robust. Staff received commendation for detailed record-keeping and transparency in handling discrimination reports. Healthcare's inpatient team achieved Macmillan accreditation, and the prison received an Autism accreditation, with positive outcomes noted for the Mulberry unit. The Board itself also received excellent resources.
Key Concerns
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
The Board asks the minister to act in respect of prisoners at HMP Wakefield who are substantially over tariff and subject to the consequences of the now discredited ‘sentences of imprisonment for public protection’ (see Criminal Justice Act 2003).
Mental Health
Repeated
The Board asks the minister to explain how the government intends to address longstanding and yet unresolved problems with the assessment and transfer of prisoners who present with serious mental health and personality disorders from HMP Wakefield to hospital (section 47, Mental Health Act 1983).
Healthcare
The Board asks the minister and his/her officials to explain how the ministry perceives the performance of prisoner healthcare at HMP Wakefield when compared against the performance specification in the contract.
Healthcare
Repeated
The Board asks HMPPS to clarify what action is being taken to remedy this and ensure that the healthcare contractor provides a robust approach to prisoner complaints and that responses are consistent with the principles of procedural fairness.
Healthcare
Repeated
The Board asks HMPPS to clarify progress on the integration of the SystmOne project led by the Ministry of Justice’s digital team.
Other
Repeated
The Board asks HMPPS to explore the possibility of implementing a nationally available set of legal resources for prisoners, including easy access to Prison Service Orders and Instructions.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The ‘astroturf’ sports pitch has been unavailable for at least two years. The pitch provides much needed opportunities for physical exercise and improved health outcomesfor prisoners. We ask HMPPS to specify what action is being taken to provide funding to recommission in sports pitch.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
We repeat our request to the Governor of HMP Wakefield in the 2020-21 annual report and ask HMPPS to clarify if (or when) in-cell telephony will become available to prisoners at Wakefield.
Equality/Diversity
The Board asks HMPPS to consider if it is necessary for the prisoner’s index offence to be highly visible on the opening page of the prisoner record on the Digital Prison Services systems (this was not the case with the legacy P-NOMIS system).
Safety
The ACCT ‘system’ remains wholly paper based. This means that ACCT data produced by staff and IMB members in the form of contemporaneous notes and entries into a prisoner's ACCT file are disaggregated from healthcare data contained in NHS SystmOne and operational data in HMPPS Digital Prison Services (formerly C-NOMIS). This inhibits information sharing between prison officers, governors, registered nurses and allied healthcare professionals in situations where a prisoner is at risk of suicide and/or self-harm. We ask HMPPS to clarify what measures are in place to enable the efficient and timely sharing of data from disparate systems.
Other
Prisoner property – we are concerned that prisoners do not receive ‘in possession’ property from reception in a timely manner. This causes avoidable frustration on the residential wings for prisoners, staff and IMB members alike.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Purposeful activity – we are concerned that too many men are not meaningfully engaged in education or work opportunities.
Other
Prisoners’ pay inconsistencies – we are concerned that some prisoners are in receipt of lower levels of pay than at other establishments (for similar work) or by virtue of their educational attainment.
Staffing
Dirty protest additional payments for staff – a number of officers have expressed dissatisfaction with the current policy. The Board is very sympathetic to their concerns, primarily due to the poor natural ventilation on the segregation unit where dirty protest incidents are managed.
Staffing
Key workers – there is some evidence of staff referring prisoners to the IMB rather than dealing with matters themselves. Keywork provides an opportunity for staff to engage with prisoners and resolve issues without the need to access the IMB. Our data (see ‘the work of the Board’) suggests that the present level of applications received by the board is unsustainable.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The kitchen faced staffing challenges, and healthcare experienced complexities with staff turnover, though job applications increased. Lengthy counter-terrorist check clearances deterred some candidates. The key worker scheme, though reinstated post-lockdown, faced teething problems, and there was evidence of key workers referring issues to the IMB rather than resolving them. Staff dissatisfaction with additional payments for managing dirty protests was also a concern, particularly given the poor ventilation in the segregation unit.
Healthcare
The Board believes healthcare needs are not always met, citing concerns about insufficient robustness and transparency in the healthcare contractor's complaints system. Significant delays for appointments, including an 18-month wait for physiotherapy, were reported. The on-site pharmacy temporarily closed due to staff resignation, leading to medication delays and one prisoner requiring outside hospital treatment. Longstanding issues persist with the assessment and transfer of prisoners with serious mental health disorders, and the physical state of the healthcare building's ground floor is poor.
Regime & Daily Life
Regime varied significantly due to COVID-19, with a transition in April 2022 allowing increased association, workshops, education, and visits. However, the lack of in-cell telephony disproportionately affected prisoners during isolation. The artificial playing surface (astroturf) has been out of use for two years, limiting physical activity. Concerns were raised about poor natural light and ventilation in the segregation unit and the impact of long-term segregation on mental health.
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 transfers) | 41 | 38 | |
| Adjudications/Internal Complaints | 72 | 100 | |
| Bullying/Safety | 4 | 2 | |
| Canteen | 12 | 13 | |
| Discrimination | 2 | 2 | — |
| Education | 1 | 0 | |
| Employment/Work | 26 | 21 | |
| Finance/Cash | 4 | 8 | |
| Food | 6 | 9 | |
| Healthcare | 64 | 24 | |
| IEP | 3 | 4 | |
| 28 | 18 | ||
| Other | 17 | 10 | |
| Property | 75 | 56 | |
| Recreation/Gym | 2 | 4 | |
| Regime/Activities | 11 | 22 | |
| Security | 15 | 13 | |
| Staff Behaviour | 3 | 3 | — |
| TOTAL | 371 | 338 | |
| Visits | 5 | 1 |
Recommendations (15)
Ministry of Justice: 3
HMPPS: 7
Governor / Director: 5
6 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
We ask the minister to act in respect of prisoners at HMP Wakefield who are substantially over tariff and subject to the consequences of the now discredited ‘sentences of imprisonment for public protection’ (see Criminal Justice Act 2003).
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
We ask the minister to explain how the government intends to address longstanding and yet unresolved problems with the assessment and transfer of prisoners who present with serious mental health and personality disorders from HMP Wakefield to hospital (section 47, Mental Health Act 1983).
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 3
We ask the minister and his/her officials to explain how the ministry perceives the performance of prisoner healthcare at HMP Wakefield when compared against the performance specification in the contract.
Ministry of Justice
Healthcare
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
In our 2020-21 annual report we asked HMPPS to clarify if the complaints procedure for healthcare provision at HMP Wakefield is audited in line with standard complaints made under the COMP1/2 procedures. The Board is not satisfied with the procedures for dealing with prisoner complaints (or concerns). We ask HMPPS to clarify what action is being taken to remedy this and ensure that the healthcare contractor provides a robust approach to prisoner complaints and that responses are consistent with the principles of procedural fairness.
HMPPS
Healthcare
Recommendation 5
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
We repeat our request in the 2020-21 annual report to ask HMPPS to clarify progress on the integration of the SystmOne project led by the Ministry of Justice’s digital team.
HMPPS
Healthcare
Response
The HMPPS response to our previous annual report states ‘SystmOne Project HMP Wakefield is currently awaiting funding for In-Cell Telephony. A survey is planned to gain an understanding of the costs associated with the implementation, however, at present there is not a set date for installation’. To clarify, SystmOne is the NHS electronic records system and is not in-cell telephony.
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
We repeat our recommendation in the 2020-21 annual report and ask HMPPS to explore the possibility of implementing a nationally available set of legal resources for prisoners, including easy access to Prison Service Orders and Instructions.
HMPPS
Other
Recommendation 7
Prev. unaddressed
The ‘astroturf’ sports pitch has been unavailable for at least two years. The pitch provides much needed opportunities for physical exercise and improved health outcomesfor prisoners. We ask HMPPS to specify what action is being taken to provide funding to recommission in sports pitch.
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
We repeat our request to the Governor of HMP Wakefield in the 2020-21 annual report and ask HMPPS to clarify if (or when) in-cell telephony will become available to prisoners at Wakefield.
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 9
We ask HMPPS to consider if it is necessary for the prisoner’s index offence to be highly visible on the opening page of the prisoner record on the Digital Prison Services systems (this was not the case with the legacy P-NOMIS system).
HMPPS
Equality
Recommendation 10
The ACCT ‘system’ remains wholly paper based. This means that ACCT data produced by staff and IMB members in the form of contemporaneous notes and entries into a prisoner's ACCT file are disaggregated from healthcare data contained in NHS SystmOne and operational data in HMPPS Digital Prison Services (formerly C-NOMIS). This inhibits information sharing between prison officers, governors, registered nurses and allied healthcare professionals in situations where a prisoner is at risk of suicide and/or self-harm. We ask HMPPS to clarify what measures are in place to enable the efficient and timely sharing of data from disparate systems.
HMPPS
Safety
Recommendation 11
Prisoner property – we are concerned that prisoners do not receive ‘in possession’ property from reception in a timely manner. This causes avoidable frustration on the residential wings for prisoners, staff and IMB members alike.
Governor / Director
Other
Recommendation 12
Purposeful activity – we are concerned that too many men are not meaningfully engaged in education or work opportunities.
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 13
Prisoners’ pay inconsistencies – we are concerned that some prisoners are in receipt of lower levels of pay than at other establishments (for similar work) or by virtue of their educational attainment.
Governor / Director
Other
Recommendation 14
Dirty protest additional payments for staff – a number of officers have expressed dissatisfaction with the current policy. The Board is very sympathetic to their concerns, primarily due to the poor natural ventilation on the segregation unit where dirty protest incidents are managed.
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 15
Key workers – there is some evidence of staff referring prisoners to the IMB rather than dealing with matters themselves. Keywork provides an opportunity for staff to engage with prisoners and resolve issues without the need to access the IMB. Our data (see ‘the work of the Board’) suggests that the present level of applications received by the board is unsustainable.
Governor / Director
Staffing
Other IMB Reports for Wakefield
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.
Prevention of Future Deaths Reports
Coroner PFD reports issued to this establishment.