Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Guys Marsh
IMB Annual Report 2021 · Published 13 April 2022
HMP Guys Marsh, a Category C training prison, navigated a challenging year (Dec 2020 – Nov 2021) under a restrictive "red regime" due to COVID-19. While recording no deaths in custody and a 20% drop in self-harm, concerns persisted regarding a significant increase in staff assaults, high mental health transfer waiting times, and problems with key working and purposeful activity due to staffing pressures and regime restrictions. The Board highlighted the need for improved staff retention, better IT systems, enhanced resettlement provisions, and a more consistent application of incentive schemes.
Positive Findings
The Board found HMP Guys Marsh to be largely safe, with a commendable 20% reduction in self-harm incidents compared to 2019. Staff were praised for operating under difficult COVID-19 circumstances and for effectively managing outbreaks, keeping prisoner hospitalisations low. Positive developments included good staff-prisoner relationships, the successful introduction of in-cell phones, improved educational provision by Weston College, and increased prisoner voice through the '3Cs' meeting.
Key Concerns
Mental Health
The increasing number of prisoners with severe mental health issues and the lengthy delays in finding suitable placements for ill prisoners, reflecting a national shortage of beds.
Safety
A regrettable increase in assaults on staff, attributed in part to inexperienced officers and heightened prisoner frustration due to extended time in cells.
Safety
The accompanying paperwork and analysis for use of force incidents were not always as robust as required, despite a marginal increase in incidents.
Safety
Reluctance among staff to consistently wear body-worn cameras, with filming occurring in less than 60% of incidents and issues noted with language and background noise in recorded footage.
Substance Misuse
The continued widespread availability of illicit substances, particularly psychoactive substances (PS) and 'hooch', leading to violence, debt, and near-death incidents.
Safety
Ineffective cell-sharing risk assessments contributing to prisoner-on-prisoner assaults due to inappropriate placements.
Staffing
The significant breakdown in key working provision throughout the year, falling far short of planned targets and identified as a contributory factor in a previous prisoner death by the PPO.
Complaints/Property
Persistent issues with lost prisoner property, both in transit and within the prison, representing the highest category of complaints and hindering prisoners from settling into the regime.
Food/Catering
Frustration and issues with the DHL contract for canteen items, including limited healthy options and prolonged delays in processing refunds for undelivered goods.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The inconsistent and sometimes punitive application of the new IEP policy, leading to prisoners being reduced in status without appropriate communication and undermining its intended incentivising effect.
Healthcare
Repeated
The untimely distribution of healthcare appointment slips by wing staff, which remained an unaddressed issue from previous reports and contributed to a high percentage of GP 'did not attends'.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The lack of effective educational provision for learners with neuro-atypical learning patterns.
Resettlement/Release
Concerns regarding the delivery of resettlement pathways following the termination of the Catch22 contract, particularly the external devolution of post-release accommodation provision which prisoners found difficult to manage.
Resettlement/Release
Extended waits for enhanced prisoners re-categorised to Category D due to a national shortage of Category D places, hindering their progression.
Other
Insufficient investment in more efficient IT systems to improve both staff efficiency and accurate, timely communication, and the abandonment of plans to install in-cell IT capabilities.
Resettlement/Release
Inadequate resources to deliver the six remaining pathways for resettlement, impacting rehabilitation efforts.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Lack of clear plans for incentivising attendance at work and education following a long period of disruption.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff retention was a significant concern due to increased violence against staff, perceived lack of senior management support, and better salaries in other industries, especially affecting inexperienced officers. Key working was severely impacted by staffing pressures and Covid restrictions, falling short of targets and being cited as a contributory factor in a prisoner's death in the previous year's PPO report. The Board expressed concern about the sustainability of the prison service as an attractive profession and the need to repair key working implementation.
Healthcare
The healthcare team, led by Practice Plus Group, provided good general care during the restricted regime, with particular praise for managing COVID-19 outbreaks and for introducing in-cell telephony for consultations. However, significant concerns persisted regarding long waiting times for mental health hospital transfers due to national bed shortages. There was also a persistent issue with the timely distribution of healthcare appointment slips by wing staff, contributing to a high GP "did not attend" rate, and some prisoner dissatisfaction with the shift away from pharmaceutical prescriptions to talking therapies.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison operated under a restrictive "red regime" for most of the year due to COVID-19, severely limiting time out of cell, work opportunities, and access to the gym. While the regime eased to Stage 2 from August to November, enabling more normal routines, concerns remained about prisoner engagement with activities and work attendance. Staffing shortages and the complex "bubble" system often curtailed purposeful activity, with some induction program elements also being restricted.
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) | 181 | 213 | |
| Adjudications | 11 | 11 | — |
| Canteen and private cash | 12 | 18 | |
| Food | 7 | 6 | |
| Health | 22 | 17 | |
| IPP and Lifer | 16 | 27 | |
| Other | 124 | 159 | |
| Property (including lost property) | 178 | 183 | |
| Staff | 10 | 12 | |
| Total | 578 | 652 | |
| Visits | 7 | 4 | |
| Work and education | 10 | 2 |
Recommendations (9)
Ministry of Justice: 3
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 3
Recommendation 1
The Minister should give significant thought to expanding Category D provision in the South-West, in view of the increasing size of the prison population and the clear intention to prioritise rehabilitation.
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 2
The Minister should take steps to ensure that the Prison Service is an attractive profession with competitive remuneration, training, and professional development.
Ministry of Justice
Staffing
Recommendation 3
The Minister should continue to liaise with other Ministers to ensure a coordinated approach to the humane incarceration of prisoners with poor mental health, addressing the national concerns about their increasing numbers.
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 4
HMPPS should prioritize investing in more efficient IT systems to improve both staff efficiency and accurate, timely communication.
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 5
HMPPS should make progress with plans to install IT capabilities in cells to aid prisoner education and administration.
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 6
HMPPS should ensure that prisons are adequately resourced to deliver the six remaining pathways for resettlement.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 7
The Governor should repair the model structure and implementation of key working.
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 8
The Governor should develop plans for incentivising attendance at work and education following the long period of disruption.
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 9
The Governor should monitor the IEP policy to ensure it clearly acts as more of an incentive rather than being punitive.
Governor / Director
Regime