§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to develop health attention services for staff at prisons in England and Wales to deal with stress-related illnesses.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe prison service has developed a stress management package for use by all its staff. Training in the use of this package is currently under way, and the aim is for the majority of staff to receive this training in 1992.
A servicewide scheme of post-incident care was launched in July this year providing care, support and expert counselling for staff suffering stress reactions following traumatic incidents at work. In addition, a lifestyle screening programme has been introduced which covers stress levels as well as other aspects of health. Prison service staff also have access to the confidential counselling services of the civil service occupational health service and the Home Office staff welfare service.