Prisons: Health Services

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Tuesday 14th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I certainly agree with my noble friend that there are huge opportunities to improve healthcare for prisoners. On new prison design, I reassure her that all prison design will be fit for purpose because medical architects will be commissioned. That new design includes, for example, medical cells so that as many healthcare needs as possible can be met in prison. On my noble friend’s point about ICBs, it is a retained service, so it is not currently delegated to ICBs. It is the responsibility of health and justice commissioners to collaborate closely with ICBs to ensure continuity of care. The electronic referral service means that patients in prison can have access to the developments to which others in the community have access.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

My Lords, a quarter of a century ago, I worked with the then Minister for Prisons following the difficulty we had releasing a shackled remand prisoner. The recommendation was that every prison should have a link with a hospice service in their area to ensure appropriate care, particularly for prisoners who cannot be transferred out of prison and who may wish to die in their cell, with their cellmate providing some of the support for them as they are dying. Can the Minister tell us how many prisons actually have such links?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for raising such an important point and for having worked on this in the past. I will need to write her with the exact figures, but we do know that more needs to be done to address health issues. However, we are keen to ensure, and are working towards making sure, that healthcare for prisoners, whether at the end of their lives or earlier, is appropriate and meets their needs, whichever is the right way to do it. Great strides have been made in that regard.