Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Erlestoke
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 4 August 2020
HMP Erlestoke, a Category C rehabilitation prison, maintained fair and humane treatment for the most part, despite significant impacts from the COVID-19 lockdown. The report highlights improvements in education and offender management, and notes a decrease in self-harm incidents. However, key concerns persist regarding GFSL's maintenance performance, the prison's ageing infrastructure, and healthcare waiting times.
Positive Findings
The board applauded the establishment of a Drug Recovery Unit and welcomed improvements in education provision and the Offender Management in Custody (OMIC) system. They noted a decrease in self-harm incidents and commended management for their handling of the lockdown and the aftermath of deaths in custody. Staff dedication in the CSU, improvements in prison cleanliness, and the commitment of education and PE staff during lockdown were also highlighted positively.
Key Concerns
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
GFSL continues to disappoint. Will the Minister consider ways in which radical changes can be made to ensure a responsive and well-managed system for repairs and improvement?
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
As reported last year, some of the fabric of the prison is ageing and of poor quality. Can plans be put in place to establish a rolling schedule of repairs and improvement?
Substance Misuse
Repeated
Drugs continue to represent a problem within the prison. What steps are proposed to assist the prison in intercepting drugs being brought into the prison?
Mental Health
Repeated
You have improved procedures with regard to ACCT reviews and in particular attendance by healthcare at first ACCT reviews. However, a system that sees healthcare more frequently absent from reviews than present, is unsatisfactory; what do you intend to do to rectify the situation?
Healthcare
Communication between Prison Reception Staff and Healthcare Reception Staff is unsatisfactory. Will this problem be addressed?
Equality/Diversity
The monitoring of Equality and Fairness requires improvement. What steps will you take to give the system the robustness that is needed?
Staffing
Repeated
What steps do you intend to take to improve line management, quality control, training and mentoring for Key Working?
Healthcare
Repeated
What is intended to be done to improve the waiting time for routine GP appointments?
Segregation
The Board is concerned at the length of time that some prisoners spend in segregation; during the year there were 18 prisoners held for more than 42 days.
Complaints/Property
The prison complaints process, other than DIRFs, has been observed to be overly bureaucratic and slow, leading to unnecessary frustrations among prisoners.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The Key Worker system still shows room for improvement in terms of management, quality control, training and mentoring, with CM interest variable and confidence in its success remaining weak. While physical healthcare and the Wellbeing Team are fully staffed, the latter is stretched by high demand. There is also a shortage of industry instructors due to low pay.
Healthcare
Healthcare generally meets required standards, but routine GP appointment waiting times are unacceptably long at 4-6 weeks. Attendance by healthcare at first ACCT reviews, while improved, remains poor due to notification issues, and escorted hospital visits are limited. Liaison between prison reception and healthcare is poor, and mental health nurses were absent from wings during lockdown, causing prisoner complaints. Despite these challenges, healthcare staffing is largely full, and the transition to a new provider went smoothly.
Regime & Daily Life
During lockdown, senior management made positive efforts to enhance time out of cells for prisoners. The prison offers 570 purposeful activity places, with 453 full-time equivalent jobs and an education attendance rate of 75%. However, many activities, including the newly opened Drug Recovery Unit, stalled due to lockdown restrictions. The gym operates seven days a week, and efforts are ongoing to improve its equipment.
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 | 4 | 6 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 3 | 0 | |
| Discipline including adjudications, IEP, sanctions | 6 | 10 | |
| Equality | 6 | 2 | |
| Finance including pay, private monies, spends | 6 | 5 | |
| Food and kitchens | 0 | 4 | |
| Health including physical, mental, social care | 9 | 28 | |
| Letters, visits, phones, public protection restrictions | 7 | 8 | |
| Miscellaneous | 3 | — | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 17 | 37 | |
| Property within this establishment | 16 | 23 | |
| Purposeful Activity including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 4 | 11 | |
| Sentence management including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 16 | 11 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns including bullying | 12 | 16 | |
| Transfers | 5 | 14 |
Recommendations (8)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 2
Governor / Director: 4
Other: 1
6 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
GFSL continues to disappoint (see paragraphs 7.2 to 7.6). Will the Minister consider ways in which radical changes can be made to ensure a responsive and well-managed system for repairs and improvement?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 2
Repeated
As reported last year, some of the fabric of the prison is ageing and of poor quality. Can plans be put in place to establish a rolling schedule of repairs and improvement? (see paragraph 7.1)
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Drugs continue to represent a problem within the prison (see paragraph 4.15). What steps are proposed to assist the prison in intercepting drugs being brought into the prison?
HMPPS
Substance Misuse
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
You have improved procedures with regard to ACCT reviews and in particular attendance by healthcare at first ACCT reviews. However, a system that sees healthcare more frequently absent from reviews than present, is unsatisfactory (see paragraph 8.5); what do you intend to do to rectify the situation?
Governor / Director
Mental Health
Recommendation 5
Communication between Prison Reception Staff and Healthcare Reception Staff is unsatisfactory (see paragraph 8.7). Will this problem be addressed?
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Recommendation 6
The monitoring of Equality and Fairness requires improvement (see paragraph 5.2). What steps will you take to give the system the robustness that is needed?
Governor / Director
Equality
Recommendation 7
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What steps do you intend to take to improve line management, quality control, training and mentoring for Key Working? (see paragraph 11.7.2)
Governor / Director
Staffing
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
To the Governor, and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust: What is intended to be done to improve the waiting time for routine GP appointments? (see paragraph 8.6)
Other
(other)
Healthcare
Other IMB Reports for Erlestoke
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
10 Jun 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 2
Respect: 2
Activity: 1
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.