Archived: HMP Stafford

We carried out a scheduled inspection at HMP Stafford between 8 and 19 February 2016 jointly with our partner inspectorate Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) under our joint memorandum of understanding. The inspection identified a number of areas which required improvement by the healthcare provider at that time. As this was a joint inspection, the full comprehensive report can be found on the HMIP website: 

  https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/inspections/hmp-stafford/

Health services at HMP Stafford are commissioned by NHS England. In April 2016, the contract for the provision of healthcare services at HMP Stafford transferred to Care UK Clinical Services Ltd (Care UK). CQC appraised Care UK of the concerns identified during the inspection in February 2016 so that they could address these within the new service provision.

This inspection was a desk-based review carried out in January and March 2017 to confirm that the new provider had made improvements in the areas which were identified in February 2016 as concerning. This report covers our previous inspection findings and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The provider had increased the provision and scope of dental care so that access and treatment were equivalent to that in the community.
• Significant improvements had been made around management of medication which reduced the risks identified in the February 2016 inspection.
• The new contract had led to increased primary mental health care staffing and staff were now accessing supervision. There remained two Registered Mental Nurse (RMN) vacancies at the time of the follow up inspection, which were being recruited for. A range of innovative service improvements and pilot studies were under way to improve patient pathways for patients with long term conditions including dementia, though the provider was aware that further work was required to ensure community equivalent care was provided for the population.

There remained areas of practice where improvements had not yet been fully embedded which the provider should continue to address.

In particular, the provider should:

• Continue to roll out the in possession medication risk assessment care arrangements for individual patients with specific needs to ensure medication is administered appropriately and safely.
• Complete the work commenced on long-term condition pathways to bring this service in line with community health care services.
• Introduce effective succession management arrangements to improve timeliness of recruitment and reduce impact of staff turnover.