Prison mental health service ‘blueprint’ for potential UK roll-out
Funding for a mental health daycare service for prisoners is being made permanent following a successful independent evaluation, which showed the service is having a positive impact on self-harm, violent misconduct and health and wellbeing.
And the move could also see Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation’s Trust’s service at HMP Norwich used as a blueprint for wider rollout across the country.
The service, a collaboration between NSFT and HMP Norwich with the support of NHS England Commissioners, provides psychological interventions to prison-based residents who are experiencing moderate to severe emotional/behavioural difficulties, linked to mental health concerns.
It offers individual and group work within a safe, calm, and relaxing environment away from the wings, delivered by therapists and assistant psychologists/practitioners, overseen by a clinical lead psychologist.
The service underwent an independent service evaluation at the end of last year on behalf of NHS England (NHSE). Now commissioners could use HMP Norwich’s model for other prisons.
Stephanie Hall, clinical lead psychologist, said: “A very strong well done to all of those involved in the development, implementation and the continued evolution of the daycare service at HMP Norwich, and a huge congratulations for their achievements and continued funding.”
Julie Lemmon, deputy service manager, said: “It has been an exciting opportunity for NSFT and HMP Norwich to work in collaboration to bring this exciting service to life. I am very proud of the team for their ongoing commitment in moving this forward in the interests of our patients’’.
The service provides mood, emotional regulation and trauma pathways aimed at improving psychological wellbeing and promoting emotional regulation.
It began accepting referrals in mid-March 2022 and since then has received a total of 395.
The evaluation identified that the service is having an impact on self-harm, violent misconduct and, in particular, the psychological health and wellbeing of its clients, stating: “There are a range of structured and evidence-based interventions contributing to improved psychological wellbeing across a range of needs.”
Overall, the evaluation said there is “strong evidence (both quantitative and qualitative) that the daycare service has had a positive impact on its clients, with clear improvements across a range of mental health outcomes”.
Learning points included improved data collection to further measure the impact on overall levels of self-harm and self-destructive behaviours at HMP Norwich, greater communication of these figures to the senior management at HMP Norwich and increased accessibility for service users on two wings which are split from the main prison.
Stephanie said: “We are delighted that funding will continue for this vital service and we hope other prisons in the country will be able to follow our lead. As with all evaluations, there were learning points which have been taken forward constructively within the team.”
CEO Caroline Donovan congratulated the team on their success and said: “It’s great to see NSFT at the forefront of work to make services safer, kinder and better for the people who use them. To know that what we are doing well is recognised outside of our organisation and held up as an example of what can be achieved is amazing news.”