Many women convicts ‘need hospital care’

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for Low Newton prison, near Durham City, says in its annual report that many of the jail’s women convicts are suffering from mental health problems requiring hospital care, rather than a prison term.

Board chairman Audrey Vasey said: “A very high number of women have mental health issues, often connected with drugs use, and while the Independent Monitoring Board is confident that every woman’s health needs, mental and or physical, are assessed, treated and monitored to very high standards, nevertheless self-harm incidents are high.

“As well as being a danger to the prisoners involved, such incidents clearly cause staff and other prisoners stress. The board believes that prison is inappropriate for a good number of these women; we believe they should be detained in specialised mental health hospitals, if possible directly from the sentencing courts.”

The report says: “This is a perennial problem and it would be remiss of this board not to bring it directly to the minister’s attention yet again.”

Low Newton is one of 14 women’s prisons in England, capable of holding up to 336 inmates.

At present, it holds about 300, aged 18 and upwards, on remand or serving sentences ranging from short terms to life.

The IMB report concludes that the governor, Patrick Fox, management and staff provide a safe and stable environment for the inmates, that the prison was clean and fresh, and whenever IMB members had visited, the atmosphere had been good.

However, Mrs Vasey said: “I think a lot of women go into prison with mental health issues. We feel it’s not the right place for a lot of women.

“We haven’t yet had a response to our report from the minister. They appreciate the difficulties, but it doesn’t seem to change.”

A Prison Service spokesman said: “We thank the Independent Monitoring Board for their report, which is being fully considered by ministers.

We will be responding in due course.”