Health and Social Care in Prisons Programme Board

In 2018 Scottish Government established the Health and Social Care in Prisons Programme Board with the aim of driving improvement in health and social care in prisons by removing structural barriers to delivery. Members of the Programme Board include NHS Boards, Integrated Joint Boards, Scottish Prison Service, COSLA and the Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector Forum. The Programme Board has established 4 workstreams, with the following deliverables:

Quality, outcomes and improvement

Defined outcomes and associated indicators for the heath of people in prison and health and social care delivery as well as the transition of their care in and out of prison.

Governance and leadership

• propose a national structure which adequately support partners (SPS, NHS Boards and IJBs) to resolve issues requiring national agreement, support healthcare professionals in delivery and innovation and identify and spread good practice. This will involve a review of the National Prisoner Healthcare Network

• a revised Memorandum of Understanding that clearly outlines roles and responsibilities for delivery of health and social care in prisons and are aligned with best practice

Health and social care integration

Models for health and social care integration in Prisons which are underpinned by best practice, legal, financial and organisational structures.

Clinical IT

A clinical IT system in prison which supports the delivery of health and social care, including transitions to and from the community, and provides data to measure key indicators and so drive improvement.

Key documents

• response to 'A new vision for social care in prisons' report

• Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons Scotland: Who Cares? The Lived Experience Of Older Prisoners In Scotland's Prisons

• Health and Sport Committee report on Health in Prisons

• Royal College of Nursing Scotland: Five years on. Review of the transfer of prison health care from the Scottish Prison Service to NHS Scotland

Related groups

Health and Justice Collaboration Improvement Board