Norwich Prison's mental health service to act as 'blueprint' for potential UK roll-out
It's found to be having a positive impact on self-harm, violent misconduct and health and wellbeing
Funding for a mental health daycare service for prisoners in Norfolk is being made permanent, after a report found it's having a positive impact on self-harm, violent misconduct and health and wellbeing.
The service, a collaboration between the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) and HMP Norwich with the support of NHS England Commissioners, provides psychological interventions to prisoners who are experiencing emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, linked to mental health concerns.
It offers individual and group work within a safe and relaxing environment, which is delivered by therapists and assistant psychologists/practitioners, and overseen by a clinical lead psychologist.
It's been so successful, prison commissioners are now looking into using the NSFT's service as a blueprint to help them roll it out across the country.
"I am very proud"
Stephanie Hall, clinical lead psychologist, said: “A very strong well done to all of those involved in the development, implementation and the continued evolution of the daycare service at HMP Norwich, and a huge congratulations for their achievements and continued funding.”
Julie Lemmon, deputy service manager, said: “It has been an exciting opportunity for NSFT and HMP Norwich to work in collaboration to bring this exciting service to life. I am very proud of the team for their ongoing commitment in moving this forward in the interests of our patients’’.
More about the service
The service provides mood, emotional regulation and trauma pathways aimed at improving psychological wellbeing and promoting emotional regulation.
It began accepting referrals in mid-March 2022 and since then has received a total of 395.
An evaluation's deemed that the service is having an impact on self-harm, violent misconduct and, in particular, the psychological health and wellbeing of its clients, stating: “There are a range of structured and evidence-based interventions contributing to improved psychological wellbeing across a range of needs.”
Overall, the evaluation said there is “strong evidence (both quantitative and qualitative) that the daycare service has had a positive impact on its clients, with clear improvements across a range of mental health outcomes”.
Learning points included improved data collection to further measure the impact on overall levels of self-harm and self-destructive behaviours at HMP Norwich, greater communication of these figures to the senior management at HMP Norwich and increased accessibility for service users on two wings which are split from the main prison.
Stephanie said: “We are delighted that funding will continue for this vital service and we hope other prisons in the country will be able to follow our lead. As with all evaluations, there were learning points which have been taken forward constructively within the team.”