Call for care home for OAPS (that’s Old Age Prisoners...)

AN OAP care wing should be established in a prison dubbed Monster Mansion in order to cater for an increasing number of ageing inmates with dementia, it is claimed.

HMP Frankland is home to some of the country’s most dangerous criminals and terrorists, some of whom will die behind bars, including serial killer Levi Bellfield, 53, and

Sarah Everard’s murderer, ex-police officer Wayne Couzens, 49.

But with 188 prisoners aged over 56 – making up 23 per cent of the 816 inmates – the independent monitoring board for the County Durham prison has now called for better care for those afflicted by dementia. The board, a group of volunteers who monitor the treatment of prisoners, said in its latest report it “remains concerned about the lack of an appropriate environment for prisoners diagnosed with dementia”.

It adds: “Given the ageing prison population and a growing number being diagnosed with dementia, can consideration now be given to providing an appropriate physical environment for this group of prisoners along with suitably qualified care workers?”

Other high-security Frankland inmates include Soham child murderer Ian Huntley, now 48, who was jailed for a minimum of 40 years in December 2003 and is not eligible for parole until 2042 at the earliest.

London nail bomber David Copeland, 46, was jailed for a minimum of 50 years and will not be eligible for parole until 2049, when he would be 73.The prison also has a separation centre which opened in 2017 to hold prisoners with extremist ideological views. They include Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale who murdered soldier Lee Rigby in south London in 2013.

Adebolajo, then 28, was given a whole life order, and Adebowale, then 22, was given a minimum term of 45 years in prison.

The Prison Service said dementia support comes from healthcare providers and the NHS, with prisoners referred to specialist dementia GPS, and they can receive specialist support on the residential wing.

A spokesperson said: “We are building 18,000 new prison places which have improved accessibility and adapted cells for older prisoners, and are developing a strategy to help meet the challenges of an ageing prison population.”

‘Consider giving an appropriate environment for inmates with dementia’