Two prisoners at HMP Wakefield have been waiting over 500 and 300 days respectively for a mental health hospital transfer. The legal limit is 28 days to transfer prisoners who require mental health treatment to a hospital.
The findings were published following a review visit in April 2026 to the high-security men’s prison in West Yorkshire by HM Inspectorate of Prisons .
Up to seven prisoners at any one time were awaiting decisions on secure hospital beds. Individual transfers were stalled as NHS units could not agree on the required security level for incoming patients.
The Mental Health Act 2025 sets a 28-day limit for transfers from prisons to hospitals. But, a national shortage of secure mental health beds meant suitable placements are rarely available. Lord Timpson, Minister for Prisons, acknowledged in March that delays remained a challenge. In his words, operational work to implement the new requirements was ‘underway across HMPPS, NHS England and other health and justice partners’.
Chief Inspector Charlie Taylor has previously said that the problem was not stemming from any lack of intention by prison staff, but from a shortage of provision in secure mental health establishments and in the community.
Healthcare within HMP Wakefield has statistically decreased in overall quality. Chronic staff shortages meant officers were regularly pulled away from clinical duties, leaving health professionals unable to run scheduled clinics or access patients in their cells.
In the months between inspections, two prisoners were allegedly murdered in quick succession, and two took their own lives. According to the report, 45% of prisoners were locked in their cells during the working day, down from 51% at the last inspection but still rated no meaningful progress. On weekends, prisoners averaged just 1.5 hours out of their cells, a fall from three hours previously. Prisoners now wait up to 11 weeks to see a GP, compared with three weeks at the last inspection. 110 prisoners are waiting as long as 35 weeks for a dental appointment. NHS targets for urgent cancer referrals have also been breached.
Of eight concerns followed up during the review, two were rated as good progress, three as insufficient progress, and three — including both mental health and healthcare — as no meaningful progress.
