Her Majesty’s Prisons Health Care Services

Close Supervision Centre Mental Health Team (CSC MHT), HMP Woodhill

Close Supervision Centres (CSCs) house some of the most challenging prisoners in the high security prison estate. The largest CSC unit is located at HMP Woodhill with two small highly supervised CSC wings.

The CSC MHT at HMP Woodhill works to identify prisoners’ mental health needs and then to work with them to optimise their ability to engage with prison services to reduce risk and progress through the CSC system and back into the prison mainstream.

The team consists of experienced and skilled professionals from medical, psychology and nursing backgrounds. Clinical psychology is also provided from Oxford Health to a Specialist Intervention Unit in Manchester.

Managing Challenging Behaviour Strategy Central Case Management Group (MCBS CMG)

The Trust has representation on the three-person MCBS CMG. This team screen CSC and MCBS national caseload referrals making recommendations to the CSC Management Committee about a person’s suitability for CSC and, in the Trust’s case, on how the mental health needs of an individual may affect their behaviour and their treatment needs.

The nurse also carries a small caseload of national MCBS prisoners within the national MCBS wing at HMP Woodhill. This group also exercise influence over the progression of prisoners and the development of services within the CSC and MCBS systems through the development of Care and Management Plans for prisoners.

Mental Health In Reach Services (MHIRT)

Each of the MHIRT services provides integrated secondary and tertiary level mental health services which can respond to the complex risk and mental health issues of the men detained in those establishments and deliver advice, assessment, treatment, care coordination and referrals appropriate to individual needs in line with current best practice and care guidelines within the budget allocated.

Aylesbury Youth Offender Institute

This is a prison for young men who have committed serious crimes. Aylesbury has a population of 444 young prisoners aged between 18 and 21.

At any time, approximately 10% of the population receive a direct service from the team.

The team is comprised of 2 mental health nurses based in the prison from Monday to Friday and sessional input from a consultant adult psychiatrist, a consultant forensic psychiatrist and a consultant clinical and forensic psychologist.

We carry out assessments and provide treatment for young men experiencing a wide verity of mental disorders including mood disorder, psychosis anxiety disorders and behavioural problems.

We work in partnership with the prison psychology department, offender management, residential units and Safer Custody to reduce risk within the establishment.

HMP Grendon

This is a nationally recognised prison offering a therapeutic community approach to tackling offending.

HMP Springhill

This is an open prison preparing men for release into the community.

The combined population for HMP Grendon and HMP Springhill is 573. The MHIRT for both these prisons comprises of 1.4 mental health nurses based in the prison from Monday to Friday and sessional input from a consultant forensic psychiatrist.

HMP Bullingdon a local category B/C prison

Bullingdon Community Prison is a Category C prison (with a Category B commitment) and opened in 1992 as a local, training and remand adult male establishment. The prison has an operational capacity of 1,114 and serves Oxford and Reading Crown Courts and the Magistrates Courts in Oxfordshire and Berkshire. However, due to overcrowding, Bullingdon holds prisoners from many other parts of England and Wales. Prisoners are often transferred at short notice in and out of the prison. Turnover at HMP Bullingdon is approximately 5000 men per annum including a percentage of men who constitute ‘frequent flyers’.

Services delivered into HMP Bullingdon include:

• Mental health nursing care encompassing primary, secondary and forensic mental health
• Consultant psychiatry including forensic and general psychiatric care

The Mental Health Service in Bullingdon consists of three teams that work closely together: Primary Care Mental Health (PCMHT), In-reach (secondary care) and the forensic team.