Inspectors highlight workload stresses on staff at young offenders institute

HEALTHCARE staff at a young offenders institute are feeling “overstretched and stressed” because of their high workload, an inspection has found.

Prison inspectors described this as a “key concern” and said that reducing the increased demands on nursing time and resources should be treated as a priority at HMP Young Offenders Institute (YOI) Grampian.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) carried out a liaison visit to the facility in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, on November 4-5, 2020.

Inspectors said that HMP YOI Grampian was performing strongly in its handling of Covid-19 risks and there was clear evidence of appropriate action being taken to minimise transmission risks.

However, they said that recruitment challenges and staff absences remain a concern for healthcare staff, despite the ongoing commitment from the Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership to seek solutions for staffing.

The report stated: “The impact of continuing to work under significant staffing pressure, together with additional demands on nursing staff, had led to an increase in work-related stress and sickness within the nursing staff group.

“As previously said in the report, given the challenges in recruiting nursing staff, the partnership should as a priority look at ways to reduce the increased demands on nursing time and resources.”

Mark Simpson, partnership manager for North Aberdeenshire, said: “The healthcare team at HMP

Grampian work exceptionally hard, dealing with some very complex cases and their dedication and commitment is a credit to their profession.

“Due to the highly specialised nature of the job, it has been hard to recruit more staff to join the team. But we continue to explore every avenue, and look at new and creative solutions to support the team already in place.”