Prison’s Covid action praised
OUTBREAK ‘ONE OF THE BIGGEST’ IN A UK JAIL
HMP Lowdham Grange reported one of the largest outbreaks of Covid in a prison last year, officials have confirmed.
In September’s outbreak, hundreds of staff and prisoners tested positive.
In a new report by the HM Inspectorate of Prisons, Lowdham Grange was praised for how it handled the outbreak, which affected 177 inmates.
Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: “This outbreak was one of the biggest in a prison at that time.
“The leadership team had worked effectively in partnership with health care providers and an outbreak control team to bring it under control.”
One person died of Covid symptoms. Inspectors who visited in January and February found prison leaders had identified lessons to be learned from the outbreak and had taken a robust approach to minimising the risks of transmission.
A further, smaller outbreak at the prison was “well managed and swiftly contained”.
While violence between prisoners fell between July and December, compared with the same period in 2019, violence towards staff increased. Prison leaders felt this was due to growing frustration with regime restrictions.
Health care provision was reasonably good, the report found, though GP waiting times were too long and some prisoners had excessive waits for transfer to mental health hospitals under the Mental Health Act.
The prison had introduced a tier system to allow prisoners to have longer periods out of their cells.
Those in tier one or two could have 90 minutes a day out of their cell, while those who were symptomatic or awaiting test results went into tier three and received at least 45 minutes, including access to the open air.
However, most prisoners still spent prolonged periods locked in cells.
Mr Taylor said: “Many prisoners raised concerns about the impact of restrictions on their wellbeing.”
Prisoners’ access to the library was poor, which was concerning given the need to promote in-cell activity to improve their wellbeing, the report concluded. The prison, which holds 880 inmates, has invested in technology such as proximity sensors to alert staff who inadvertently breached distancing protocols. Overall, Mr Taylor said: “This is an encouraging report. The prison had learned from the serious Covid-19 outbreak, and partnership working between prison and health leaders was a real strength. “Despite the requirement for national approval of recovery plans, the prison had been active in easing restrictions before the outbreak and had been able to reopen several key work activity areas during the summer. “Nearly all strategic meetings had continued throughout this period and, while the two outbreaks combined with wider national restrictions had stalled progress, the prison was in a strong position to widen the regime when it becomes safe to do so.”
This is an encouraging report. The prison has learned from the serious Covid-19 outbreak
Charlie Taylor