An inspection of a women’s prison in Gloucestershire has revealed ‘appalling’ living conditions, a stark rise in the use of force against prisoners and record rates of self-harm.
The independent prisons inspectorate released their report in HMP Eastwood Park on Friday. In a statement, they said one experienced inspector had described conditions on one unit as the worst he had ever seen.
The 70-page report details a stark increase in women reporting mental ill health, 83% of all inmates, and rates of self-harm 128% higher than at the last inspection in 2019. Since it was last inspected, two women had taken their own lives. Inspectors said the prison lacked the appropriate staff or facilities to support women who were in many cases acutely unwell, and that bosses at the prison ‘had lost sight of the extent of these problems’. Although leaders at Eastwood Park said reducing self-harm was their top priority, the report notes that delivery of mental health awareness training had not resumed since the pandemic, and that staff had little knowledge of the causes.
From speaking to prisoners, inspectors said women self-reported the causes of increased rates of self-harming as: too much time locked in their cells, a lack of purposeful activity, frustrations about basic requests taking too long to resolve, insufficient support with mental health issues and not enough contact with family and friends.
Staff used force against women in the prison 395 times in the last 12 months, a 75% increase since the last inspection. The report notes this is significantly higher than in other prisons on the women’s estate. Body-worn camera footage was only available in 50% of cases, and that which was available was often of poor quality. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and the prison inspectorate are currently investigating a case where staff used force against a prisoner who later died.
In a statement released with the report, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, said: ‘Some of the most vulnerable women across the prison estate were held in an environment wholly unsuitable for their therapeutic needs. The levels of distress we observed were appalling. No prisoner should be held in such terrible conditions.’
The statement also indicated low staffing levels on account of a shortage of prison staff were among the causes of the poor inspection.
Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust said: ‘One fact from this distressing report leaps out from the page — 83% of the women locked up in this prison built for young men had mental health problems, all against a pervasive background of homelessness and substance misuse. The chief inspector can only report about the terrible conditions some of them were experiencing in an understaffed prison. But there must surely be a question for the government about why we continue to allow prison to be the place where all these problems have to be addressed.’
