Self-harm at Welsh prison doubles to hit record high
CASES of self-harming at Swansea prison have doubled in a year and reached an all-time high.
There were 300 self-harm incidents reported in 2017, and 38 of these required hospital treatment.
Five years previously there were just 12 self-harm incidents reported, rising to 149 in 2016.
The Prison Service said it was taking action nationwide to address the issue.
The alarming trend also has farreaching impacts on prison officers, according to the Prison Officers’ Association union.
A union spokeswoman said mental health issues among the prison population were “worse than ever” and that resources were badly lacking.
Other underlying issues, she said, were increased levels of drug use, less time spent out of cells, less purposeful activity, and longer waiting lists for mental health team support.
“As a result prison officers, who receive a very basic mental health awareness training session, are left to deal with prisoners who actually need expert intervention,” she said.
“Any act of self-harm that results in a hospital visit takes away resources from within the prison and puts further pressure on staff, and means prisoners spend less time out of cell as the staff are not there to supervise them.
“These increased levels of selfharm also place more pressure on other emergency services, particularly the NHS.”
The union spokeswoman added that a minority of prisoners tended to self-harm repeatedly, but that it was also possible that incidents were under-reported.
In May this year chief inspector of prisons Peter Clarke told MPs that Swansea Prison had failed to make recommended improvements, and described its response as “probably the worst I’ve seen anywhere”.
Addressing the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, Mr Clarke made the case that poor conditions and cell confinement had knock-on effects on prisoners.
“Sadly, all too often, they turn to drugs, and that’s certainly an issue at Swansea, where 40% of the prisoners there told us that it was easy or very easy to get drugs,” he said.
“Seventeen per cent of prisoners at Swansea told us that they had actually acquired a drug habit since being in the prison.”
HMP Swansea has more than its recommended level of inmates.
In December last year it housed 411 prisoners against a recommended baseline of 268.
A Prison Service spokesman said: “Prisons should be places of safety and reform, and we know the early days in prison are the hardest.
“We have been working to improve support for prisoners in their early days and weeks.
“We are rolling out new training for staff on suicide and self-harm prevention – and this has now reached more than 14,000 staff.
“We already provide individual support for over 2,500 prisoners identified as being at risk of selfharm or suicide every day through the assessment, care in custody and teamwork case management system.”