§ Julie MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what responsibility the Commission for Health Improvement has for(a) prisoners' and (b) ex-offenders' health care. [144070]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Commission for Health Improvement is responsible for conducting reviews and investigations of health care for which national health service bodies or service providers have responsibility. This responsibility encompasses the review or investigation of health services for prisoners where these are commissioned or provided by primary care trusts.
§ Julie MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the NHS primary care and hospital treatments complaints procedure extends to health care provided in prison. [144521]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe national health service complaints procedure does not currently extend to health care provided in prison. However, with the forthcoming transfer of prison health commissioning responsibility from the Prison Service to the NHS, prisoners will have access to the NHS complaints process where services are commissioned by the NHS.
§ Julie MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether targets for follow-up treatment for mental health patients extend to women with histories of self-harm leaving custody. [144538]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe "National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness" recommended that all discharged inpatients who have severe mental illness or a recent history of deliberate self-harm should be followed up within one week.
This recommendation applies to people in prison who have been receiving care from specialist mental health services for any mental health problem, including self-harm.
§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the services he makes available to prisoners aged over 65 years. [145631]
§ Dr. LadymanAll prisons and their local national health service partners undertake regular joint assessments of prisoners" health needs and are responsible for providing, through local delivery plans, any additional services that may be required to meet unmet need identified during the assessment process.
208WThe Department of Health and the Home Office have commissioned, for completion in spring 2004, a health strategy for older prisoners. This will include recommendations on the location and type of residential accommodation needed by older prisoners, the nature of the prison regime, and individual healthcare planning and throughcare arrangements. It will also identify the core principles that should apply to the management of older prisoners throughout their period in custody, including the transfer to residential or nursing homes of prisoners with degenerative diseases.