Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what provisions are in place for palliative care in privately managed prisons.
There are five privately managed prison contracts, all of which have provisions in place for palliative care. For those prisons where NHS England holds commissioning responsibility, they commission end of life and palliative care provision, support the prisons’ approach to the local authorities’ assessment and management of social care, and ensure that elderly patients are supported in accessing healthcare services.
NHS England has developed a ‘Dying Well in Custody Charter’, mirroring the community based Dying Well Charter, scheduled to be published this spring.
Information on receiving palliative care from Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service by age is not held centrally.