Prison
Cat women's closed
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Send
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 16 August 2022
HMP Send is a closed prison for adult women with an operational capacity of 191, holding 182 prisoners at the end of the reporting year, including 63 ISPs. The Board considers Send a safe prison but highlights a significant increase in self-harm incidents (837) and one death in custody. Key concerns include the need for specialist mental health provision for prolific self-harmers, slow progress on digital in-cell technology, and persistent staffing shortages.
Positive Findings
The Board considers Send a safe prison with humane treatment, commending staff efforts to ensure prisoner safety, provide support for complex needs, and manage Covid-19. Positive aspects include the reintroduction of therapeutic interventions, outstanding chaplaincy support, and the introduction of initiatives like the Parkrun and Redemption Roasters coffee shop. Education, despite challenges, shows excellent teaching and engagement with prisoners, and improvements in equality data and family support are welcomed. Additionally, an initiative allowing enhanced prisoners to keep budgerigars has positively impacted their anxiety and loneliness.
Key Concerns
Other
The government plan for 500 new prison places for women contradicts the female offender strategy (June 2018) which sets out the vision that custody should be made a last resort, reserved for the most serious offences.
Mental Health
Repeated
Provision should be made in appropriate secure specialist mental health facilities for the small number of very challenging women with highly complex mental health needs. These are often a result of traumatic lives and manifest as prolific self-harm. Prison is a totally inadequate ‘revolving door’ for these prisoners (4.2).
Other
Repeated
The Board continues to have concerns about the unjust detention of one IPP prisoner, who is 11 years past her original short tariff date (7.3).
Resettlement/Release
The Board is concerned that there is a lack of appropriate resettlement accommodation (7.5).
Education/Purposeful Activity
The Board urges HMPPS to speed up the plans to roll out digital in-cell technology to HMP Send (7.1).
Staffing
The Board would like to see provision of training to address the specific needs of female prisoners such as trauma-informed care, de-escalation and distraction techniques (5.3).
Staffing
Repeated
Recruitment issues continue to impact on all areas of prison life including operational staff, healthcare and catering (3.1, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2).
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The Board thinks it is important that there is association time for prisoners as well as purposeful activity (6.4).
Education/Purposeful Activity
The Board would like to see the strategy for education and training at Send drive a culture of learning and become a key focus (7.1).
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Despite staff efforts to alleviate the impact on the health and wellbeing of prisoners during hot summer days, ventilation is still inadequate in cells (5.1).
Complaints/Property
The Board has concerns about ownership of complaint issues and lack of outcomes (5.7).
Healthcare
Repeated
There has been a persistent problem with the availability of healthcare complaint forms on wings (6.1).
Resettlement/Release
The Board is concerned that the new visiting time of 9am on Saturdays is affecting families’ ability to visit and has a negative impact on family ties (7.4.2).
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The Board would like to see a clear outline for enhanced living on C wing, clearly communicated to prisoners (5.6).
Equality/Diversity
The Board would like to make sure discrimination incident reporting forms (DIRFs) are independently scrutinised by an external specialist organisation and action is taken on any themes emerging from them (5.4).
Board Commentary
Staffing
The prison has experienced ongoing staffing shortages impacting operational staff, healthcare, and catering, leading to staff working under extreme pressure. Recruitment issues are notable, with many new staff lacking experience in trauma-informed care for women. While the introduction of key workers under OMiC is a welcome development, its effectiveness is yet to be fully evaluated, and staffing levels remain an issue for therapeutic units like PIPE and DTC.
Healthcare
Healthcare services, despite acute staff shortages, were generally maintained at an appropriate level, with HMIP reporting them as very good. The Board commended efforts to manage Covid-19, including vaccinations. However, concerns persist regarding the detrimental impact of restrictions on mental health, the ongoing need for dental surgery refurbishment and associated waiting lists, and the frequent unavailability of healthcare complaint forms. Staffing shortfalls also affect therapeutic units like the DTC and PIPE.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison regime underwent multiple changes throughout the year due to Covid-19 restrictions, ranging from stage 1 to stage 3. While time out of cell increased compared to the previous year, activities were often severely curtailed, and indoor association was suspended. A new core day schedule included a 'patrol state' locking prisoners in cells for staff breaks. The Board is concerned about the detrimental impact of these restrictions on prisoners' physical and mental wellbeing, particularly the limited opportunities for social association.
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) | 2 | 2 | — |
| Adjudications | 3 | 2 | |
| Bullying | 1 | 0 | |
| Complaints procedure | 1 | 2 | |
| Discrimination/equality | 1 | 0 | |
| Education/work | 1 | 2 | |
| Family concerns | 4 | 2 | |
| Food/canteen | 1 | 2 | |
| Healthcare | 11 | 16 | |
| Indeterminate Sentences | 2 | 0 | |
| Legal | 2 | 1 | |
| Money/finances | 2 | 1 | |
| Property | 20 | 16 | |
| Regime | 16 | 21 | |
| Release/parole | 10 | 10 | — |
| Remand/recall | 0 | 0 | |
| Staff behaviour | 1 | 1 | — |
| Support (Listener/ACCT/Safecustody) | 2 | 3 | |
| TOTAL | 87 | 84 | |
| Transfers | 1 | 1 | — |
| Visits | 4 | 2 | |
| Welfare | 2 | 3 |
Recommendations (15)
Ministry of Justice: 4
HMPPS: 4
Governor / Director: 7
5 repeated
Recommendation 1
The Board remains concerned that the government plan for 500 new prison places for women contradicts the female offender strategy (June 2018) which sets out the vision that custody should be made a last resort, reserved for the most serious offences.
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Provision should be made in appropriate secure specialist mental health facilities for the small number of very challenging women with highly complex mental health needs. These are often a result of traumatic lives and manifest as prolific self-harm. Prison is a totally inadequate ‘revolving door’ for these prisoners (4.2).
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board continues to have concerns about the unjust detention of one IPP prisoner, who is 11 years past her original short tariff date (7.3).
Ministry of Justice
Other
Recommendation 4
The Board is concerned that there is a lack of appropriate resettlement accommodation (7.5).
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 5
The Board urges HMPPS to speed up the plans to roll out digital in-cell technology to HMP Send (7.1).
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 6
The Board would like to see provision of training to address the specific needs of female prisoners such as trauma-informed care, de-escalation and distraction techniques (5.3).
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 7
Repeated
Recruitment issues continue to impact on all areas of prison life including operational staff, healthcare and catering (3.1, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2).
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 8
The Board thinks it is important that there is association time for prisoners as well as purposeful activity (6.4).
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 9
The Board would like to see the strategy for education and training at Send drive a culture of learning and become a key focus (7.1).
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 10
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Despite staff efforts to alleviate the impact on the health and wellbeing of prisoners during hot summer days, ventilation is still inadequate in cells (5.1).
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 11
The Board has concerns about ownership of complaint issues and lack of outcomes (5.7).
Governor / Director
Complaints
Recommendation 12
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
There has been a persistent problem with the availability of healthcare complaint forms on wings (6.1).
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Recommendation 13
The Board is concerned that the new visiting time of 9am on Saturdays is affecting families’ ability to visit and has a negative impact on family ties (7.4.2).
Governor / Director
Resettlement
Recommendation 14
The Board would like to see a clear outline for enhanced living on C wing, clearly communicated to prisoners (5.6).
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 15
The Board would like to make sure discrimination incident reporting forms (DIRFs) are independently scrutinised by an external specialist organisation and action is taken on any themes emerging from them (5.4).
Governor / Director
Equality
Other IMB Reports for Send
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
17 Mar 2025
Unannounced
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.