It is worth keeping in mind that back in 2011, we made a decision to transfer health and medical services within our prison service to the NHS in order to help to improve that flow of data. Prior to that, the SPS was responsible for providing health and medical services within the prison estate and one of the real challenges that came about from that situation was to do with the transfer of information and data, not just into prison but back out of prison.
Transferring the services to the NHS was about helping to make sure that that information and data flow issue was addressed. I believe that things have improved significantly. Are there aspects that could be improved further? I suspect that there are. Some of the evidence that you have heard might demonstrate the need for that.
My health minister colleagues are looking at an area of work on the back of the Health and Sport Committee’s report on healthcare provision within the prison estate. They are looking at some of the measures that need to be taken to improve the consistency with which healthcare is being provided.
It is fair to say that some health boards are better than others. For example, the health board in my constituency, NHS Forth Valley, has to cover three prisons—Polmont young offenders institution, Cornton Vale and Glenochil. By and large, it delivers a very good service and is very attuned to and works in close partnership with the SPS.
In other parts of the country we need to refine that process and make it work better. There are aspects that we can improve and my health minister colleagues are working on how to help that happen.
We have also created the joint health and justice collaboration improvement board, which is headed up by the director general for health and the director general for justice. It has a range of different parties on it, including the chief executive of the SPS and chief executives from the NHS. It is looking at targeted measures that we can take across our justice system, including in the SPS, to improve the flow of data and to get those partnerships right, in order to make sure that people receive the right service.
By and large, however, when someone goes into prison, they will be screened by a nurse and, after that, there will often be provision for them to see a doctor within 24 hours if that is necessary. There will be consistency in how those services are being delivered.
The committee received some anecdotal evidence about whether people were getting access to their medication at the right times. My only note of caution on that is to ask whether there is hard evidence to demonstrate that that is the case. If there is hard evidence to demonstrate that it is, there is no doubt that both the NHS board responsible and whichever prison is referred to need to sort that issue out. However, my understanding from the SPS is that it is not aware of a particular concern having been raised with it. It is open to addressing the issue if there is evidence that it is a problem in any particular establishment.
Those partnerships are stronger now than they have ever been as a result of the NHS now delivering prison service healthcare. Some health boards are doing it better than others and some need to improve further. The work that is being done by my health colleagues is about helping to improve those partnerships and the work that we are doing in the health and justice collaboration improvement board is about helping to make sure that there is much clearer direction on addressing some of these issues at a strategic level.
The SPS and the NHS should be able to address individual concerns regularly as and when issues are raised.
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