Prison
Cat C, YOI
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Stoke Heath
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 30 September 2020
HMP/YOI Stoke Heath is largely considered safe, with strong violence reduction strategies and improved healthcare services. However, the report highlights significant concerns regarding the use of segregation for mental health cases and long waiting times for transfers. Persistent issues include inadequate telephone access, poor accountability for lost property, and a severe lack of purposeful activity and employment opportunities due to insufficient funding.
Positive Findings
The Board considers the establishment remains safe with good violence reduction management and a strong strategic approach. Healthcare services have expanded and improved, with beneficial developments in quality, safety, and care, and improved partnership working. Staff turnover is low, and staff-prisoner relationships are generally good, aided by an embedded key worker scheme. The CQC found services much improved, particularly in leadership and staff integration into prison meetings.
Key Concerns
Mental Health
The segregation unit is being used for holding transferred-in prisoners with severe mental health issues. Stoke Heath does not have suitable secure mental health beds to accommodate this prisoner group.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The small number of communal telephones often means that prisoners are not able to contact family members at peak times, causing unnecessary anxiety and stress.
Other
Repeated
The longstanding issue regarding the lack of accountability for prisoners’ lost property continues, and has a significant negative impact on their wellbeing.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
The low rates of purposeful activity and employment upon release are indicative of the work and resource required to make improvements. The budget for both education and vocational training is totally insufficient to meet resettlement needs.
Education/Purposeful Activity
While some purposeful activity provides occupation within the prison (for example, tailoring), it may not help prisoners with suitable employment upon release. Purposeful activity should, where possible, reflect opportunities for employment upon release.
Mental Health
Unacceptably long waiting times for assessment for transfer to prisons with inpatient beds.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staff turnover at Stoke Heath is low, with the prison operating at 99% of its full complement and only two resignations reported. The relationship between staff and prisoners is generally positive, partly attributed to the continuity provided by key workers and wing staff. The key worker scheme is well-embedded, with key workers meeting prisoners fortnightly for 1.5-hour sessions.
Healthcare
Healthcare services have continued to expand and improve significantly since Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust took over the contract in April 2019, leading to improved quality, safety, and care. Staffing has greatly improved, with a full team of primary care nurses and a new GP clinical lead making positive changes. Mental health services are excellent, available seven days a week, but there are recruitment problems for psychology staff and unacceptably long waiting times for assessment and transfer to inpatient beds, with the longest wait being 110 days.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison faces significant challenges with low rates of purposeful activity and employment upon release, exacerbated by a 32% cut in funding for education and vocational training. Prisoners are also dissatisfied with limited access to communal telephones, causing stress and anxiety. While prisoners have access to exercise mornings and during summer evenings, and those who work are out of their cells for most of the day, insufficient purposeful activity overall prevents many from leaving their cells and gaining valuable skills.
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) | 45 | 38 | |
| Complaints (internal process) | 15 | 13 | |
| Discipline (including adjudications) | 23 | 22 | |
| Discrimination | 2 | 1 | |
| Drug related | 0 | 0 | |
| Education | 0 | 0 | |
| Employment | 0 | 0 | |
| Family matters | 1 | 1 | — |
| Food | 1 | 1 | — |
| Health and welfare | 26 | 21 | |
| IEPs (incentives and earned privileges) | 4 | 3 | |
| Legal | 1 | 1 | — |
| Lost property | 12 | 10 | |
| Other | 2 | 2 | — |
| Release on temporary licence | 0 | 1 | |
| Segregation | 0 | 0 | |
| Staff conduct | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTAL | 132 | 113 | |
| Visits | 0 | 0 |
Recommendations (7)
HMPPS: 5
Governor / Director: 2
1 repeated
Recommendation 1
Prisoners should have the opportunity to obtain qualifications in English and mathematics earlier in their sentence, before transfer to a resettlement prison.
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 2
Levels of employment on release are still very low. Much more resource needs to be allocated to vocational skills and qualifications that are in demand.
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
While funding for education and purposeful activity from the Prison Service is woefully inadequate, the Board hopes that other sources of funding and resources can be attracted into the prison from private enterprise.
HMPPS
Education
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board feels strongly that the paper-based system for tracking prisoners’ property is out of date and would benefit from technology investment.
HMPPS
Other
Recommendation 5
The Board considers that funding needs to be allocated for Stoke Heath as a matter of urgency to improve telephone access for prisoners.
HMPPS
Regime
Recommendation 6
The Board has registered its concern about unacceptably long waiting times for assessment for transfer to prisons with inpatient beds. The Board supports the prison’s proposal to create a crisis unit within the prison’s decommissioned inpatient unit, to enable care to be provided appropriately on site while waiting for assessment and transfer under the Mental Health Act. The Board hopes that this situation will be resolved quickly.
Governor / Director
Mental Health
Recommendation 7
The Board is concerned that while some purposeful activity provides occupation within the prison (for example, tailoring), it may not help prisoners with suitable employment upon release. Purposeful activity should, where possible, reflect opportunities for employment upon release.
Governor / Director
Education
Other IMB Reports for Stoke Heath
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
9 Jan 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 4
Respect: 3
Activity: 1
Release: 2
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.