The Care Quality Commission
  • Prison healthcare

Archived: HMP Wakefield

5 Love Lane, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF2 9AG (01924) 612000

Provided and run by:
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Important: This service was previously managed by a different provider - see old profile

All Inspections

19 March 2015

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We had previously carried out an inspection at HMP Wakefield in July 2014. During this inspection we identified that due to the complex nature of the provider arrangements in place at the prison, partnership working with both the other providers and the prison itself were necessary in order to ensure a joined up service was being provided. We found that this was not always at the level it needed to be and there were gaps in joint working. We found the environment the service was being delivered in was not fit for purpose and was having a negative impact on the quality of services received.

We asked the provider to submit an action plan to us and we revisited in March 2015 to see if the provider had made the necessary improvements.

There were now clear arrangements in place for governance of the services being delivered and all providers were clear on their accountability and responsibilities on site. There had been development of joint working practices and these meant that services being provided to patients was more joined up.

We found the provider had worked to identify more appropriate and clinically effective spaces to deliver services in and for staff to be based. This meant staff were now able to focus on therapeutic interventions and carry out work more effectively both directly with patients and in terms of service management.

7, 8 July 2014

During a themed inspection looking at Offender Healthcare

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust were providing integrated mental health services at HMP Wakefield. This formed part of the wider healthcare services available at HMP Wakefield provided by multiple providers.

Due to the complex nature of the provider arrangements in place at the prison, partnership working with both the other providers and the prison itself were necessary in order to ensure a joined up service was provided. This was not always at the level it needed to be and there were gaps in joint working. The mental health team reported feeling undervalued within the wider healthcare delivery on site.

Access to services was good. Patients were happy with the service they were receiving and the types of interventions available were broad. There was a good staff skill mix within the mental health team and staff told us that they felt well supported and able to access training when required. Supervision required some development to ensure a consistent approach.

The environment, although reasonably maintained, was not fit for delivering the service effectively and there were some challenges faced by mental health staff in terms of how the service could ensure appropriate spaces were available to provide intervention and treatment.

There was auditing and monitoring in place and mechanisms for gathering feedback from patients. There were some issues with the various complaints systems being used by the different providers on site which may have caused some confusion. The service had a clear development plan in place and was focussed on improving service quality and provision.