During an assessment under our new approach
HMP YOI Doncaster is a category B local prison and holds around 1150 men. The healthcare services are provided by Practice Plus Group Health and Rehabilitation Services Limited (PPG).
In September 2025 we carried out a joint inspection with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), where we found breaches of regulation relating to safe care and treatment, and good governance. We issued an action plan request in relation to our concerns about these.
The purpose of this focused assessment was to check if the provider was now meeting the relevant regulations. At this assessment, we assessed 4 quality statements across the safe, effective, and well-led key questions.
We found the service has made improvements in some areas, but the provider remained in breach of Regulation 17 Good Governance. We have issued a new action plan request against Regulation 17.
We found that some aspects of medicines management had improved, including pharmacy technicians consistently checking patient identity during medicines administration. However, action had not always been taken when medicines storage temperatures exceeded recommended limits, the out-of-hours medicines register contained inaccuracies and omissions, and controlled drugs records were not always completed correctly. None of these issues had been identified through the provider's assurance and monitoring processes.
We found that processes for managing patients awaiting mental health triage had improved significantly. The service had strengthened its monitoring and oversight of performance data, which helped ensure referrals were reviewed promptly and patients were able to access mental health support in a timely manner.
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.