Prison
Cat Category C training/designated resettlement
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Oakwood
IMB Annual Report 2024 · Published 23 August 2024
HMP Oakwood is a Category C training/resettlement prison reporting for the year ending March 2024. While the Board found it generally safe with a respectful culture, concerns persist regarding widespread dissatisfaction with food provision, persistent property issues, and significant challenges in mental health service capacity and staffing. Efforts have been made in violence reduction and prisoner support, but key areas require further attention and resource allocation.
Positive Findings
The Board views HMP Oakwood as a generally safe and secure environment with a culture of respectful treatment. They commend the well-managed Care and Separation Unit (CSU) staff for their care and support, and the healthcare team for high standards of palliative care. Positive initiatives such as the Healing Hut and Oakwood Man Club, along with enthusiastic library management and thriving farms and gardens, contribute to a positive atmosphere.
Key Concerns
Safety
There was a 40% increase in the number of assessment, care in custody and teamwork files (ACCTs) opened, used to support prisoners who are at risk of self-harm and suicide, during this reporting year compared with the previous one, with a 22% increase in incidents of self-harm over the same period.
Food/Catering
Repeated
The Board is concerned by the widespread dissatisfaction among prisoners of the current food provision.
Mental Health
There has been concern that during good order or discipline (GOoD) reviews, especially when the prisoner who is in the CSU has significant mental health concerns, there has not been a mental health professional present (although there has always been a healthcare professional).
Other
Repeated
The Board still remains concerned that it is seeing a lack of adherence to the Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework, particularly with missing property from incoming prisoners.
Staffing
Repeated
The Board is concerned that there are ongoing recruitment and retention issues for staff working in prison mental health services when the demand is increasing. There is still a vacancy for a psychologist at HMP Oakwood and a number of roles are being covered by agency or bank staff.
Healthcare
The current commissioned capacity of the healthcare provision at HMP Oakwood does not appear to be sufficient to meet the needs of the current prison population, both in terms of physical and mental health. For example, all transfers to a secure mental health facility at Oakwood exceed the 28-day stipulated timeframe.
Staffing
The current commissioned capacity of the offender management unit (OMU), in terms of the numbers of probation officers and forensic psychological support at HMP Oakwood, does not appear to be sufficient to meet the needs of the current prison population.
Resettlement/Release
The number of IPP-sentenced prisoners is continuing to rise at HMP Oakwood, with the current number standing at 101 (which has doubled in the past 12 months). The prison is to begin to hold progression panels for IPP prisoners (starting in April 2024), but resources remain unchanged.
Safety
A recurring theme on reviewing incidents was that prison custody officers (PCOs) were not turning on their cameras early enough to pick up the context of a situation prior to it escalating into requiring the use of force.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The Board approves of Level 2 English and Mathematics being mandatory for those who have not reached this level but is concerned at the inconsistencies in transferring prior attainment information from previous establishments.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
The Board is still receiving applications from prisoners who either do not understand the complaints/request system or feel that it is unfair.
Healthcare
The discharge lounge has previously provided good support to prisoners who are due for release and require specialist healthcare support, but it is not currently available due to staff sickness and vacancies.
Other
During the reporting year, the Board made efforts to engage with Oakwood Media to produce a series of short programmes on the role of the IMB, which could be broadcast to prisoners. However, this has failed to materialise, despite our efforts.
Food/Catering
Repeated
There were long delays in repairing or replacing faulty kitchen equipment.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Serveries opened early at lunchtime, potentially disadvantaging prisoners returning from work and education.
Food/Catering
Repeated
Servery staff were observed not wearing the correct personal protective equipment (PPE).
Safety
There continue to be issues in relation to the use of restraints on prisoners being taken to hospital and the delay in removing them when a prisoner’s health deteriorates (from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman/PPO recommendations).
Other
The Board continues to be concerned about complaints regarding property lost whilst at HMP Oakwood. The Director should review whether there are sufficient resources to manage the internal movement of property.
Safety
The Board is still concerned about the ongoing problems of prisoners arriving very late and the long journeys that have been made in a very small cell on the transport vehicle.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The feedback received from prisoners did question the effectiveness of key worker sessions and some felt they were too much like a tick-box exercise.
Safety
The Board is concerned at the number of times officers have been observed not displaying their name badges clearly nor wearing body-worn video cameras (BWVCs).
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
A total of 61% of Discrimination Incident Reporting Forms (DIRFS) were not proven, a slight increase from 55% in the previous year, which the Board will continue to monitor closely.
Equality/Diversity
Some prisoners who have autism spoke to Board members during the year to say they felt they did not receive as much support as they had in other prisons, which provide facilities such as a sensory room. The care and support of disabled prisoners with mobility problems will be an area the Board will be monitoring during the coming year.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The management team at Novus (education provider) changed during the year and it has been difficult for the Board to obtain its management structure. The Board would appreciate regular meetings with the education managers so that it can then monitor more effectively.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The prison proactively recruits staff, with 174 starters and 132 leavers during the year. However, there are ongoing recruitment and retention issues within prison mental health services, particularly a persistent psychologist vacancy, with some roles covered by agency staff. The discharge lounge is currently unavailable due to staff sickness and vacancies. Key worker sessions have met targets more often, but some prisoners still perceive them as a 'tick-box' exercise.
Healthcare
Practice Plus Group (PPG) provides care equivalent to that in the community, with a proactive patient experience lead holding monthly clinics to address prisoner concerns. While emergency escorts to A&E are frequent, secondary care consultants now visit on-site to reduce escort demand. However, there is an ongoing psychologist vacancy, and all transfers to secure mental health facilities exceed the 28-day timeframe, with concerns about the lack of forensic psychological secure places. A discharge lounge, though previously useful, is currently unavailable due to staff sickness and vacancies.
Regime & Daily Life
Prisoners are unlocked for an average of 9.5 hours daily, with purposeful activity averaging just over 24 hours weekly. Weekend regimes involve split association and exercise periods, with dinner served at 4:30-5:30pm before lock-up. While the overall consensus on the weekend regime is fairly positive, some prisoners express unhappiness about the wing being split for association, an area the Board will continue to monitor.
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 | |
| Adjudications | 2 | 3 | |
| Benefits and allowances | 1 | 0 | |
| Complaints procedure/process | 5 | 3 | |
| Discrimination | 0 | 1 | |
| Family (including visits) | 2 | 1 | |
| Food | 2 | 4 | |
| Healthcare (including mental health) | 40 | 22 | |
| Information (including IMB) | 8 | 10 | |
| Legal | 1 | 0 | |
| Money | 0 | 0 | |
| Other | 11 | 13 | |
| Pensions | 0 | 0 | |
| Personal property | 20 | 21 | |
| Segregation | 4 | 2 | |
| Staffing/staff behaviour | 1 | 0 | |
| Telephone | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTAL | 142 | 119 | |
| Work, education and training | 0 | 1 |
Recommendations (14)
Ministry of Justice: 1
HMPPS: 4
Governor / Director: 9
5 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board is concerned that there are ongoing recruitment and retention issues for staff working in prison mental health services when the demand is increasing. There is still a vacancy for a psychologist at HMP Oakwood and a number of roles are being covered by agency or bank staff. What does the Minister plan to do to improve this situation?
Ministry of Justice
Staffing, Mental Health
Response
NHS England (Midlands) has commissioned a bespoke workforce plan in recognition of the local and national workforce challenges across health and justice services. The report and proposals will be shared with healthcare providers, partnerships of integrated care and workforce planning and training advisers within NHS England to agree longer-term actions to improve recruitment and retention.
Recommendation 2
The current commissioned capacity of the healthcare provision at HMP Oakwood does not appear to be sufficient to meet the needs of the current prison population, both in terms of physical and mental health. Could the Prison Service examine the current profile of the prison population at HMP Oakwood and address these concerns? For example, all transfers to a secure mental health facility at Oakwood exceed the 28-day stipulated timeframe (with reference to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) thematic review, ‘The Long Wait’, published in February 2024).
HMPPS
Healthcare, Mental Health
Recommendation 3
The current commissioned capacity of the offender management unit (OMU), in terms of the numbers of probation officers and forensic psychological support at HMP Oakwood, does not appear to be sufficient to meet the needs of the current prison population. Could the Prison Service examine the current profile of the prison population at HMP Oakwood and address these concerns?
HMPPS
Resettlement, Staffing
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Since the implementation of the Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework in 2022, the Board still remains concerned that it is seeing a lack of adherence to the policy, particularly with missing property from incoming prisoners. This year, we received 440 complaints relating to other establishments, of which 257 (58%) were regarding property. Can this ongoing concern be addressed?
HMPPS
Other
Response
The framework introduced a new requirement that prisons must transfer excess property within four weeks unless there are exceptional circumstances which make this impossible. To avoid the problem of delays altogether, the framework places an emphasis on ensuring compliance with volumetric control limits, since anything within these limits will be transferred with the prisoner. HMPPS will monitor the impact of the framework, going forward, and will look at what further improvements can be made.
Recommendation 5
The number of IPP-sentenced prisoners is continuing to rise at HMP Oakwood, with the current number standing at 101 (which has doubled in the past 12 months). The prison is to begin to hold progression panels for IPP prisoners (starting in April 2024), but resources remain unchanged. Would a reduction in the number of IPP prisoners currently held at HMP Oakwood be considered to enable those who are here to receive the attention they merit following the parliamentary review and subsequent response from the Ministry of Justice/Prison Service?
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 6
Repeated
Prev. addressed
The Board is concerned by the widespread dissatisfaction among prisoners of the current food provision. How can the Director ensure that the issues raised are listened to and practical solutions are explored to try to reduce this level of discontent?
Governor / Director
Food
Recommendation 7
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
How can the Director ensure that standards during service at the serveries are consistently high (hygiene, PPE, timings, equipment working correctly)?
Governor / Director
Food, Regime
Response
The serveries are monitored by managers, and when items are broken, they are repaired as soon as possible. Managers will challenge anyone who is not wearing PPE.
Recommendation 8
Could the Director work with the healthcare unit to try to ensure that a mental health professional is present during CSU GOoD reviews when the prisoner concerned has serious mental health concerns?
Governor / Director
Mental Health, Segregation
Recommendation 9
Although the use of body worn video cameras is very high during UoF incidents, how can the Director encourage officers to take advantage of the benefits of turning on their cameras early enough to capture the lead up to a UoF.
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 10
The Board approves of Level 2 English and Mathematics being mandatory for those who have not reached this level but is concerned at the inconsistencies in transferring prior attainment information from previous establishments. Can the Director look at ways to resolve this issue?
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 11
The Board continues to be concerned about complaints regarding property lost whilst at HMP Oakwood. Can the Director review whether there are sufficient resources to manage the internal movement of property?
Governor / Director
Other
Recommendation 12
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The Board is still receiving applications from prisoners who either do not understand the complaints/request system or feel that it is unfair. Could the Director look at heightening the awareness of this during the Induction process?
Governor / Director
Complaints
Response
New campaign awareness posters and media are currently being designed to better inform prisoners of the complaints’ process and support services available. We currently have posters on the wings explaining that if the complaint is deemed a request, the prisoner will receive a rejection letter via the post. A copy of the request will then be sent to the relevant department to respond within three working days to the prisoner via the kiosk.
Recommendation 13
The discharge lounge has previously provided good support to prisoners who are due for release and require specialist healthcare support, but it is not currently available due to staff sickness and vacancies. There is ongoing recruitment but has the Director any influence to expedite the process?
Governor / Director
Healthcare, Resettlement
Recommendation 14
During the reporting year, the Board made efforts to engage with Oakwood Media to produce a series of short programmes on the role of the IMB, which could be broadcast to prisoners. However, this has failed to materialise, despite our efforts. Could the Director help facilitate this to happen in the next reporting year?
Governor / Director
Other
Other IMB Reports for Oakwood
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
9 Apr 2024
Unannounced
Safety: 4
Respect: 4
Activity: 4
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.