Prison
Cat B training
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Isle of Wight
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 1 August 2025
HMP Isle of Wight saw a less safe environment in 2024, with significant increases in assaults, self-harm, and use of force, largely attributed to rising drug availability and staffing pressures, especially among probation and mental health teams. Key concerns include a lack of secure hospital beds for mentally ill prisoners, long healthcare waiting times, and issues with the regime, including poor laundry facilities and food service. The Board highlights improvements in education attendance, neurodiversity support, and some aspects of reception and induction, while also noting repeated recommendations regarding mental health transfers and probation staffing remain unaddressed.
Positive Findings
The Board commends the substance abuse treatment team for doubling its intervention work through group sessions and notes the successful impact of the neurodiversity support manager in shifting prison culture. The social care wing provides excellent care for elderly, frail, and disabled prisoners. Staffing improvements have led to a more reliable regime, with improved weekend closure rates and sustained attendance in education and work. Library access has also improved, and the establishment of a family liaison and death in custody lead officer is working well. The healthcare department delivered an excellent Hepatitis C awareness campaign, and the adjudication process is seen as fair and consistent. Many excellent equality events and forums were held throughout the year.
Key Concerns
Safety
The prison is a less safe environment than last year for prisoners and staff, evidenced by significant increases in staff assaults and prisoner-on-prisoner violence.
Substance Misuse
There is an increase in the availability of illicit drugs, particularly Spice, and consequential prisoner debt, which the Board considers major contributory factors to increased violence.
Equality/Diversity
Equality seems to be of lower priority than in previous years due to the full-time role of equality manager not being replaced, impacting the timeliness of discrimination complaints.
Mental Health
The prison faces considerable challenges due to the increasing number of prisoners with complex mental health needs requiring transfer to secure hospitals, often necessitating resource-intensive management.
Healthcare
Staffing shortages and contract issues have led to unacceptably long waiting times for GP and dental appointments.
Staffing
Repeated
The chronic staff shortage of qualified probation officers has not improved, leading to delayed categorisations and OASys reports for prisoners, and unsustainable workloads for staff.
Healthcare
There is a lack of a robust system to identify and assess prisoner social care needs across all wings, meaning the needs of the increasing elderly prison population may not be met.
Segregation
The number of prisoners in the SARU on open ACCT plans appears high, given that authorisation of segregation in these circumstances should be exceptional.
Safety
Enhanced security gates are urgently needed at both sites, in line with other LTHSE establishments, to reduce ingress of illicit items.
Estate/Conditions
Workshops and waiting facilities for family visits require funding for repair.
Other
Many adjudications on both sites are either adjourned and subsequently dismissed for lack of evidence, or procedurally incorrect.
Food/Catering
Food trolleys are in very poor condition, affecting food temperature, and there are frequent complaints about food not being kept to the correct temperature and issues with portion sizes and servery staff supervision.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The central laundry has not been in operation since 2021, and there are continuing problems with washing machines and dryers on wings.
Board Commentary
Staffing
Staffing shortages have impacted waiting times for GP and dental appointments, and mental health team vacancies have led to staff being overstretched. The chronic shortage of qualified probation officers remains unaddressed, resulting in delayed categorisations and unsustainable workloads. An increase in less experienced staff (22-23% with less than two years' service) is linked to a rise in violence and a lack of confidence in managing prisoner situations. While overall staffing levels are reported as good, pressures from loans, suspensions, sickness, and holidays still cause wing or workshop/gym closures and regime alterations. Staff often lack sufficient time for meaningful key worker sessions.
Healthcare
The prison faces significant challenges with an increasing number of prisoners requiring mental health transfers to secure hospitals. Staffing shortages and contract issues have led to long waiting times for GP and dental appointments, although physical healthcare delivery is generally good, and complaints are decreasing. The integration of mental health and substance abuse treatment is successful, with daily triage and multidisciplinary treatment plans working well. However, mental health team staffing vacancies have adversely impacted service delivery at peak times. The neurodiversity support manager has positively influenced prison culture, and the social care wing offers excellent care for vulnerable prisoners, but a robust system for identifying and assessing social care needs across all wings is lacking.
Regime & Daily Life
Improvements in staffing have led to a more reliable regime for work, education, and gym access, with significantly improved weekend closure rates, though concerns remain over continued closures. In Albany, a night sanitation system is in place, but it frequently breaks down, requiring portable toilets, and cells lack running water. Prisoners are allowed 7 minutes out of cells for facilities, up to five times during night sanitation. The central laundry has been out of operation since 2021, with personal laundry processed on wings, where washing machine and dryer problems persist. Food trolleys are in poor condition, affecting food temperature, and there are frequent complaints about food quality, portion sizes, and servery staff supervision.
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 | |
| Discipline/adjudications | 22 | 19 | |
| Discrimination (other) | 4 | 3 | |
| Equality and diversity | 3 | 3 | — |
| Facilities | 3 | 2 | |
| Family contact | 17 | 12 | |
| Food | 14 | 16 | |
| Healthcare | 18 | 15 | |
| Laundry | 2 | 2 | — |
| Legal | 8 | 5 | |
| Money | 7 | 6 | |
| Offender Management | 10 | 11 | |
| Other | 58 | 45 | |
| Property/valuables | 27 | 25 | |
| Racism | 5 | 5 | — |
| Safety/bullying | 9 | 10 | |
| Staff/prisoner relationships | 11 | 9 | |
| Visits | 17 | 10 | |
| Work/pay/education | 13 | 14 |
Recommendations (10)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 6
3 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can the Minister work with the Minister for Health and Social Care to provide sufficient beds in secure hospital facilities to ensure that the increasing number of mentally ill prisoners in the prison estate can be transferred to an appropriate care setting within the 28-day transfer target?
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Response
A letter was received on 31 October 2024, which acknowledged that the transfer and remission of adult prisoners under the Mental Health Act 1983 results in swifter remission from hospital, but that in the LTHSE patients are sent to the prison that best meets their needs by assessing a range of areas pre-remission. It is recognised that more work needs to be done at the prison and that the south east NHS Commissioning team is working with the prison’s healthcare provider to address gaps in provision and ensure the integrated model is functioning effectively. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to implement a range of reforms to support people suffering mental illness in the criminal justice system. It is recognised that adult male prisons have been under acute capacity pressures, which have been affected by the reduction in standard determinate sentences from 50% to 40%. The Mental Health Bill is not yet in force. Progress: The mental health service provider has increased provision by recruiting and locating a mental health worker in the IHU at weekends. New recruits to the mental health service provider will be required to work flexibly, including at weekends. The changes to standard determinate sentences did not reduce capacity at the prison which, aside from a small remand facility, holds men convicted of serious sexual offences to whom the changes do not apply. The Mental Health Bill is not yet in force.
Recommendation 2
Will the Prison Service urgently prioritise funds for the installation of enhanced security gates at both sites, in line with the security arrangements at other LTHSE establishments?
HMPPS
Safety
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The national initiatives introduced to address the chronic staffing shortage of qualified probation staff have made no difference to HMP Isle of Wight. Are there any bespoke measures that can be introduced to reduce the unsustainable workload of probation staff at this prison and reduce the adverse impact on prisoners?
HMPPS
Staffing
Response
A letter was received on 31 October 2024. It stated that there have been a variety of measures to stimulate national recruitment, which has increased by 10.9% in the south-central region. These include a probation alumni Scheme to encourage qualified staff to return. A trainee probation officer campaign has been launched, aimed at increasing diversity and application volumes. To increase interest in the Isle of Wight, there is an ongoing recruitment campaign with public interest transfer (PIT). [This involves organisations offering relocation and/or other benefits to encourage people to move and work on the island] and the offer of placements for trainee probation officers. Two full-time remote probation offender managers (POMs) have been provided on loan. The national Prioritisation Framework controls the workload of frontline staff. Progress: There are still two remote-working probation staff. Although one of the staff in post at the start of the year was not retained, a replacement was found and went live towards the end of the year. In 2024, one new probation officer was recruited due to the PIT transfer advert. However, the prison lost one probation officer back to the community so, overall, there were no change in numbers. The prison has provided placements for trainees throughout the year but, despite requests from some of these to remain in the prison on qualification, this has not been approved and they have returned to the community. There has, therefore, been no change in the prison’s situation in the last 12 months.
Recommendation 4
Funding is needed to repair the workshops and waiting facilities for family visits. Can the Prison Service prioritise funding for this purpose?
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 5
What changes can be made to ensure there is a proactive, timely and robust system to identify and assess prisoner social care needs and ensure that prisoners understand they can self-refer?
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Recommendation 6
Given the older prisoner demographic, could funds be allocated to enable the charity, Age UK, to attend on site and continue its valuable work in relation to prisoner welfare and dementia?
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Recommendation 7
All positive drug test results are forwarded by security to the substance misuse treatment team so that support can be provided. Could a similar centralised approach be adopted so that the inclusion team is notified when a prisoner is under the influence or alcohol is found in their cell?
Governor / Director
Substance Misuse
Recommendation 8
Given the barriers to family social visits caused by the prison’s location, can the Governor maximise social video call opportunities by ensuring that monitors are available in each wing in Parkhurst? Also, could a review of any unmet needs and available technologies be undertaken with a view to increasing the number of daily and weekend social video call slots available?
Governor / Director
Family Contact
Recommendation 9
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Can appropriate equipment/instruction materials be immediately installed in the IHU so that translation services are available for prisoners located there and for prisoners who arrive outside of core hours when initial health screening takes place in the unit?
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Response
The Governor will ensure translated induction materials are available by using SharePoint, identifying languages through flags, and utilising The Big Word service with spider phones for privacy. Health screenings are supported by IHU nursing staff, and Google Translate is used for document translation. Peer support and multilingual staff are also available for assistance. Progress: In our previous report, we raised this, believing that it created some risk for vulnerable prisoners, and it seems that the issue may not have been fully addressed.
Recommendation 10
When prisoners in SARU fail the algorithm and are transferred to the IHU either for observation or anticipated transfer to a secure hospital facility what therapeutic engagement with the mental health team is provided for under the contract with Practice Plus Group?
Governor / Director
Mental Health
Other IMB Reports for Isle of Wight
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.