§ Ms LynneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which Prison Service establishments the health care service for prisoners now purchases NHS services; and what has been the annual cost(a) by establishment and (b) in total in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Liz Lynne dated July 1993:
I have been asked to reply to your Question seeking information about Prison Service establishments which are purchasing services from NHS providers and the cost of these services.The health care services (excluding pharmaceutical services) at present provided under contracts with NHS provider authorities and units, as distinct from contracts with individual practitioners, are indicated in the following table. The aggregate cost of the contracts in this financial year is £225,000. For reasons of commercial confidentiality I am unable to give information about costs in earlier years when there was only one contract.
Establishment Type of Service HM Prison Belmarsh General Medical Services HM Prison Durham Psychiatric Services HM Prison Frankland Psychiatric Services HM Remand Centre Low Newton Psychiatric Services
§ Ms LynneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which Prison Service establishments negotiations are in progress with the NHS for the provision of health care services.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Liz Lynne, dated July 1993:
I have been asked to reply to your Question about current negotiations between Prison Service establishments and the NHS for the provision of health care services.301WI am not aware that any establishment is in formal negotiation with NHS providers at the present time. Invitations to tender for a contract to provide genito-urinary services to three establishments—HM Prisons Brixton, Wandsworth and Wormwood Scrubs—are expected to issue soon.
§ Ms LynneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what complaints procedure exists for prisoners who wish to complain about any aspect of medical care or treatment which they receive from the health care service for prisoners or the NHS contractor.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Liz Lynne, dated July 1993:
I have been asked to reply to your Question about the complaints procedure available to prisoners who wish to complain about any aspect of medical care or treatment.In Prison Service establishments formal complaints which relate to clincal care or treatment received in prison are normally first considered by the head of health care of the establishment. They may also be referred, either on appeal or by exercise of a right of direct confidential access, to the Directorate of Health Care at Prison Service headquarters where they are considered by a senior doctor. In general this procedure is available whether the service complained of is provided by staff of the Health Care Service for Prisoners or by an external provider under contract, but individual contracts may provide—and one current contract does so provide—for clinical complaints to be considered under NHS procedures.Other avenues normally available to prisoners, including Boards of Visitors and Members of Parliament, can also be used to ventilate complaints about health care.