Bid to improve healthcare for patients in prison

TAYSIDE’S Prison Healthcare Service hosted a learning event to share ideas on how the healthcare experience can be improved for the patient population at Perth Prison and Castle Huntly.

Representatives from the Scottish Prison Service, Healthcare I mprovement Scotland and the Scottish Government heard about the work of the Prison Healthcare Patient Safety Collaborative, the first group of its kind in Scotland to focus on improving patient safety for the prison population.

Jillian Galloway, head of prison healthcare for Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership, which has responsibility for delivering prisoner healthcare in Tayside, said: “We are committed to improving the healthcare experience and supporting the recovery of patients in our care and we will work with our partners to achieve better care, reduce harm, generate real depth of learning, and create a centre of excellence for prison healthcare.

“The collaborative will focus on changes and improvements that will form the vision of care that will significantly improve the experience of service users.”

Fraser Munro, governor of HMP Perth, said: “Building on the collaborative approach already in place within the prison is an opportunity that will support improvement in the health and wellbeing of those in our care.

“Health and wellbeing are two of the key assets that evidence tells us support individuals to desist from crime.”

Attendees at the learning event.