Nottingham prison under fire
Nottingham prison needs to do more to prevent inmates committing suicide, a report by the chief inspector of prisons says today.
The report praises the prison for its drug services, healthcare and its efforts to assist former inmates once they were released.
But the prison comes in for criticism over its suicide prevention work and the condition of its Victorian wing, which was judged to be “unfit for its purpose”, also came under fire.
However, refurbishments are planned for the wing and a brand new building is also due to be opened at the prison in the near future.
And chief inspector of prisons Anne Owers acknowledged that Nottingham was an improving prison.
“It still has much to do, but with the new accommodation, continued strong management direction, and staff commitment, this improvement can be continued and sustained,” Ms Owers said.
Director general of the prison service Phil Wheatley said he was “pleased” the inspectorate had recognised improvement.
“There has already been a great deal of work put into suicide and self-harm prevention with a significant increase in the number of staff trained in new care procedures,” Mr Wheatley said.
In the prison service’s prison performance table published in June, Nottingham prison was judged to have achieved level three, the maximum award for excellence being level four.
This means that the prison has met the majority of its targets and at the time was delivering a “reasonable and decent regime”.
The prison had been criticised last month by an independent watchdog. The Independent Monitoring Board said the Victorian wing is becoming unsuitable for housing anybody – especially in winter when it can be as cold as 10C.
