- Prison healthcare
HMP Onley
Assessment report published 16 March 2026
Contents
Judgements
Our view of the service
HMP Onley is a Category C, male adult training and resettlement prison. The prison is located in Northamptonshire. The healthcare services are provided by Practice Plus Group (PPG).
We carried out a joint assessment with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) in May 2025, where we found the quality of primary healthcare and medicines required improvement. We issued an action plan request in relation to breaches of regulation found relating to safe care and treatment, and governance.
We accompanied HMIP on their independent review of progress (IRP) inspection in January 2026 to determine if the provider was now meeting the legal requirements of the relevant regulations. At this assessment, we assessed 5 quality statements across the safe, effective, responsive and well-led key questions. We found some improvements had been made but more work needed to be done.
At this assessment, we found 3 breaches of regulation. The provider remained in breach of the legal regulations in relation to regulation 12 safe care and treatment, and regulation 17 governance and we also identified a breach in regulation 18, staffing.
We do not currently rate services provided in prisons. We highlight good practice and issues that service providers need to improve and take regulatory action as necessary.
A new healthcare management team had recently been appointed, they had introduced some new processes which worked well, but more work was needed including improved oversight of the outcomes for patients. For example, audits were conducted but failed to identify concerns we found during our inspection because they did not include any qualitative review.
Staffing levels for mental health nurses and therapy staff frequently failed to meet expected standards, although following a recruitment drive, gaps in rotas were expected to decrease.
Improved triage processes worked well but there was little non-medical intervention available for patients who required support with their mental health. Patient care plans and risk assessments lacked necessary detail and discharges were not planned or documented well.