Prison
Cat B
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Doncaster 2019 –
IMB Annual Report 2019 · Published 15 November 2021
The reporting year for HMP Doncaster (October 2019 – September 2020) was dominated by Covid-19, which heavily impacted the prison regime and the IMB's monitoring capabilities. The Board praised staff dedication during the pandemic and noted positive changes in senior management and improvements in the DIRF and healthcare complaints processes. However, key concerns persisted regarding self-harm risks, drug use, and the timely provision of healthcare, especially mental health services.
Positive Findings
The Board commended all staff for their essential roles in keeping the prison running and caring for men during Covid-19. They noted positive changes by the new Director and senior management team, and an improved MQPL safety score. Progress was also welcomed in implementing improved DIRF procedures and establishing a better healthcare complaints process, with use of force monitoring showing no patterns of concern by ethnicity or religion.
Key Concerns
Safety
The Board is concerned about self-harm. Although self-harm is a risk that the prison has to address at all times, Covid or non-Covid, the negative impact of a restricted regime (especially reduced contact with family and friends through visits) must create additional risks.
Substance Misuse
There is drug use in the prison. This creates acute and longer-term health issues and, at its most severe, can be an immediate risk to life.
Equality/Diversity
Issues and complaints that included comments about inequality of treatment related to a protected characteristic were not always made via the DIRF process.
Healthcare
Not all of prisoners’ health needs were being met in a timely and effective manner, applicable to both physical and mental health conditions.
Mental Health
Capacity of mental health staffing, specifically the number of professional on-site staff available for prisoners in a timely manner.
Healthcare
Not all prisoners were able to access the healthcare they needed when they needed it, with issues identified in the appointment system and officers enabling men to attend appointments.
Complaints/Property
The prison/healthcare were not receiving all complaints about health issues that should have been made, due to prisoners being unaware of procedures or raising complaints informally.
Safety
All lessons to be learnt from the findings of internal investigations and the reports of the PPO into deaths in custody to be actioned.
Board Commentary
Healthcare
The Board expressed concern that prisoners' physical and mental health needs were not always met effectively or timely, citing issues with mental health staffing capacity and prisoner access to appointments. Complaints about healthcare were often informal or under-reported, though an improved formal complaints process has now been established for 2020/21. The report also highlights the importance of actioning all lessons learned from PPO reports into deaths in custody during the year.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison regime was significantly impacted by Covid-19 restrictions, leading to a notable reduction in prisoner association and limited contact with families and friends through visits. The Board recognised that this restricted regime created additional risks for prisoners, particularly regarding self-harm.
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 | 10 | 12 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 2 | 6 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions | 10 | 12 | |
| Equality | 8 | 3 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 5 | 2 | |
| Food and kitchens | 1 | 5 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 32 | 39 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 18 | 4 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 5 | 0 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 6 | 9 | |
| Property within this establishment | 17 | 29 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 7 | 9 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 14 | 19 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 48 | 35 | |
| Transfers | 3 | 9 |
Recommendations (4)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 1
Governor / Director: 2
Recommendation 1
Our Board recommends that work be done to research the impact of Covid and Covid precautions on prisoners and on their families to make sure that their experiences are fully understood and their voices on the impact of Covid and Covid precautions are captured.
Ministry of Justice
Regime
Recommendation 2
We would make a similar recommendation to that above but with the scope being research with people in prisons. As mentioned above, our Board understands the very difficult decisions that have to be made to reduce Covid spread and to keep people safe but we feel that prisoners’ experiences need to be captured in a systematic manner and those findings used to inform plans for future risks
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 3
All lessons to be learnt from the findings of internal investigations and the reports of the PPO into deaths in custody to be actioned.
Governor / Director
Safety
Response
already been discussed with the Director and work is in hand
Recommendation 4
Improved DIRF procedures to be implemented and progress on improvement to be assured.
Governor / Director
Equality
Response
already been discussed with the Director and work is in hand
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.