Prison
Cat Closed Female YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Downview
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 10 October 2022
HMP/YOI Downview experienced another year significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to a restricted regime and challenges across various departments. While the Board found the prison safe and prisoners treated fairly, it raised significant concerns regarding the management and provision of healthcare, staffing pressures, and the lack of digital access for education. These issues highlight the ongoing difficulties in maintaining optimal conditions and services for prisoners under pandemic and resource constraints.
Positive Findings
The Board commended staff for their ongoing support and resilience in keeping prisoners and staff safe despite extraordinary circumstances. Downview was deemed a safe prison where prisoners were treated fairly and humanely, and proactively offered opportunities despite COVID-19 restrictions. The early days induction programme and key worker scheme (OMiC) were well received, and social care support was excellent. The chaplaincy team also provided consistent pastoral care and innovative services, with positive feedback from women.
Key Concerns
Education/Purposeful Activity
The lack of IT infrastructure in prison education and barriers created to enabling prisoners to be job-ready.
Mental Health
Repeated
The lengthy segregation of prisoners with complex mental health needs and the population of individuals with prolific self-harming behaviour in a prison environment.
Resettlement/Release
An additional layer of reporting and accountability for the employment advisory board, with minimal impact on positive outcomes for prisoners.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Lack of actual progress to implement an effective digital strategy for education, to ensure that digital devices are available within prisons and to ensure safe and secure access to the internet in the women’s estate.
Healthcare
Lack of stability with the management of healthcare during the reporting year, which has undoubtedly impacted on provision.
Complaints/Property
Little confidence in how healthcare complaints and concerns are managed and logged.
Safety
The perceived lack of support for the Listeners scheme.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing levels were critical in early 2022, with a high number of absences, particularly frontline operational staff. A third of staff had joined since March 2020, leading to inexperience and inconsistency. Staff reported feeling tired and stressed, with morale sometimes low, and a 7% turnover was attributed to leadership and communication issues. Obsolete IT hardware further hampered staff work, and healthcare specifically faced significant staffing challenges and high agency spend.
Healthcare
Healthcare management and provision were a significant concern, impacted by critical staffing shortages and two interim heads of healthcare. This led to issues with medication distribution, communication, and access to appointments. Inadequate healthcare provision was a main issue raised by new arrivals, particularly for those needing medication or detoxing. The Board also expressed little confidence in how healthcare complaints were managed and logged, noting inconsistencies in reporting figures.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison regime remained significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with frequent lockdowns and outbreak statuses leading to restricted activities and women spending significant periods in their cells. The population remained low for much of the year but began to rise. While the prison moved to a less restricted Stage 1 regime at the end of the reporting period, women showed considerable resilience navigating prolonged reduced opportunities and limited contact with loved ones. Delays in medication distribution also frequently disrupted the core day.
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) | 8 | 3 | |
| Activities and work | 1 | 1 | — |
| Discipline | 1 | 1 | — |
| Equality and diversity | 0 | 0 | |
| Food | 2 | 0 | |
| Healthcare (including medication and dental) | 30 | 42 | |
| Legal | 1 | 3 | |
| Other | 2 | 6 | |
| Property (including lost property) | 9 | 1 | |
| Respect | 2 | 0 | |
| Staff | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 58 | 57 | |
| Visits | 1 | 0 |
Recommendations (9)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 5
1 repeated
Recommendation 1
Given the significant challenges posed by the lack of IT infrastructure in prison education and barriers created to enabling prisoners to be job-ready, how can digital access be expedited?
Ministry of Justice
Education
Recommendation 2
Repeated
We remain concerned about the lengthy segregation of prisoners with complex mental health needs and the population of individuals with prolific self-harming behaviour in a prison environment. Prison is no place for such women and, despite the best efforts of staff, it is obvious that often issues will worsen and behaviours will deteriorate. It is disappointing that the significant funding to be used for the prison expansion programme cannot be used to better effect for alternative ways to support such women.
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 3
We will watch with interest the development of the employment advisory board at the prison. We are concerned about an additional layer of reporting and accountability for the prison, with minimal impact on positive outcomes for prisoners.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 4
What actual progress has been made to implement an effective digital strategy for education, to ensure that digital devices are available within prisons and to ensure safe and secure access to the internet in the women’s estate?
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 5
It has been regrettable that there has been such a lack of stability with the management of healthcare during the reporting year and this has undoubtedly impacted on provision. We are reassured to see a permanent healthcare head appointed shortly after the end of the reporting period, which hopefully will lead to a more concerted effort on behalf of the prison and CNWL to work together for healthcare delivery in the prison.
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Recommendation 6
The Board has little confidence in how healthcare complaints and concerns are managed and logged and we hope to see a more efficient system being developed.
Governor / Director
Complaints
Recommendation 7
The Board welcomes the more effective management and delivery of the family engagement resource in the prison. It appears that the basics for family engagement are now more in place. However, compared to other prisons which are more proactive in this area, there is still much to do. We continue to look forward to seeing a significantly more family-centred approach and initiatives and effective delivery of the renegotiated contract by Pact.
Governor / Director
Resettlement
Recommendation 8
The Board will look forward to the continued monitoring of the operation of the Weston College contract during the next reporting period as more face-to-face teaching takes place.
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 9
It is disappointing to hear of the perceived lack of support for the Listeners scheme, and we look forward to seeing this develop in the future.
Governor / Director
Safety
Other IMB Reports for Downview
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.