Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Five Wells
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 16 October 2024
HMP Five Wells, a privately run Category C prison, increased its population to 1,700 by March 2024, leading to the doubling up of some cells. While the Board noted significant operational improvements under new leadership and generally good accommodation, it raised serious concerns about the prevalence of illicit substances, self-harm, and the management of use of force incidents. Challenges persist in staff recruitment, education provision, and the under-resourcing of the IMB itself.
Positive Findings
The Board noted significant improvements under new leadership, including enhanced staff support and inter-departmental cooperation. Positive aspects include generally met healthcare needs, good continuity of care for prison leavers, and significant advancements in staff training and purposeful activity attendance. Family support and a new departure lounge for releasing prisoners were also commended.
Key Concerns
Substance Misuse
Repeated
Illicit substances are still prevalent in the prison, alongside a high rate of positive random drug tests.
Safety
Repeated
Incidents of self-harm are common and the management of the assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) process for prisoners at risk of self-harm and suicide requires improvement.
Safety
Repeated
Use of force incidents are often poorly managed, putting staff and prisoners at risk.
Overcrowding
The Board has some concerns about two prisoners sharing cells designed for one.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The building design issues, highlighted in the previous IMB report, remain, including no airflow to the houseblock hub and common areas, and low mobility cells being unusable due to poorly positioned shower and electric sockets.
Staffing
Repeated
Key worker support was suspended for most of the reporting year.
Other
Repeated
The Board continues to receive a high number of complaints about the loss of property, suggesting the national paper-based system causes time wasting and unsatisfactory outcomes.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
The education department struggled during the reporting year, due mainly to staffing issues, and many courses are not accredited.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Release on temporary licence (ROTL) for outside employment was suspended for most of the year.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Reducing reoffending meetings have been infrequent and a reducing reoffending strategy is awaited to enhance co-ordination of the relevant resettlement teams.
Other
Repeated
The Independent Monitoring Board is significantly under-resourced with only six members, despite a complement of 16, trying to monitor a complex prison with over 1,700 prisoners.
Healthcare
The system for submitting healthcare complaints/applications remained unsatisfactory and breached confidentiality, with a lack of electronic communication and accessibility concerns for paper boxes.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Prisoners remain unallocated for long periods before being assigned to meaningful activity, and there are concerns about ensuring all men are in meaningful employment for at least 25 hours a week.
Board Commentary
Staffing
HMP Five Wells faces significant challenges with recruitment and retention across all departments, including the reliance on detached duty staff. Key worker support was suspended for most of the year due to staffing shortages, and there are 20 clinical staff vacancies filled by agency staff. The education department also struggled significantly with staffing issues, with long clearance times for new appointees.
Healthcare
Healthcare needs are generally met, though the Practice Plus Group operates with over 20 clinical staff vacancies, relying on agency staff for night cover. There's a notable increase in healthcare applications, with many concerning medication management and a lack of prisoner understanding. The complaints system remains problematic, lacking effective electronic submission. Waiting times for appointments like doctors (6 weeks) and dentists (14 weeks) are long, and the absence of an in-patient facility poses issues for weekend discharges.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison operated under an amber/red regime for most of the year, which provided satisfactory time out of cell, yet restricted activity and required external staff support. Key worker support was suspended. Purposeful activity in education and industries was limited to half-day sessions, often only two hours, due to movements. Concerns remain about the hours and availability of meaningful occupation if the regime moves to full-time work, and there's disappointment over the lack of an indoor sports hall.
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 | 31 | 13 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 36 | 23 | |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 35 | 9 | |
| Equality | 0 | 0 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 47 | 21 | |
| Food and kitchens | 22 | 12 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 100 | 18 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 21 | 23 | |
| Miscellaneous | 57 | 45 | |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 52 | 43 | |
| Property within the establishment | 51 | 40 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 22 | 10 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation | 48 | 22 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 38 | 15 | |
| Transfers | 11 | 3 |
Recommendations (18)
Other: 1
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 14
13 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Are there plans to address the Board’s concerns that progress towards making the IMB Secretariat a separate entity to the MoJ has not been given Parliamentary time, and that the current public appointment system does not serve the best interests of recruiting new members?
Other
(minister)
Other
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board remains concerned that little progress has been made in introducing a system which reduces the problems of loss of property during transfer from another establishment.
HMPPS
Other
Recommendation 3
Repeated
The Board remains concerned about the ingress of illicit items into the prison. Can more robust methods of detection be authorised?
HMPPS
Safety
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What improvements can be made to ensure all men arrive at Five Wells with a robust and up to date sentence plan?
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 5
Repeated
How will the prison measure and monitor the effectiveness of actions being taken to improve the management of use of force incidents?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 6
Repeated
How will the prison improve its management of ACCT cases to reduce the frequency of self-harm incidents?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 7
Repeated
What additional security measures will be taken to limit the number of illicit items found in the prison?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 8
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
When will the low mobility cells be made safe and brought into full use?
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 9
Repeated
What steps will be taken to improve the airflow in houseblocks?
Governor / Director
Estate
Recommendation 10
What plans are there to make cells that have been ‘doubled up’ more appropriate for use by two prisoners.
Governor / Director
Overcrowding
Recommendation 11
When will a consistent policy be enforced on the use of vapes for both staff and prisoners?
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 12
What steps are being taken to ensure greater efficiency in the timing and attendance at GOAD reviews?
Governor / Director
Segregation
Recommendation 13
What steps are being taken to introduce electronic communication between PPG and prisoners?
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Recommendation 14
How can the healthcare department improve prisoner understanding of changes to their medication?
Governor / Director
Healthcare
Recommendation 15
Repeated
What steps will be taken to ensure, where possible, that all men will be able to take an accredited course that could help them access employment on release?
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 16
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What steps are being taken to ensure that prisoners do not remain unallocated for long periods before being assigned to meaningful activity?
Governor / Director
Regime
Recommendation 17
Repeated
What is being planned to ensure all men are in meaningful employment for at least 25 hours a week?
Governor / Director
Purposeful activity
Recommendation 18
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What will be done differently in 2024-2025 to enable the achievement of the planned 35 prisoners to be granted ROTL for outside employment?
Governor / Director
Resettlement
Other IMB Reports for Five Wells
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
2 Jan 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 2
Respect: 2
Activity: 1
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.