§ Dr. MurrisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence is collected centrally to benchmark(a) health outcomes and (b) healthcare provision in the prison population against the population at large. [121343]
§ Paul GogginsThe Home Office and Department of Health collect a range of performance monitoring data on health services for prisoners, covering both physical and mental health care activity. These data focus primarily on availability of and access to services, and do not at present provide a basis for benchmarking health outcomes. They are subject to ongoing refinement to facilitate more systematic comparisons with services available to the population at large.
The Government also commissioned the "Toolkit for Health Care Needs Assessment in Prisons" (University of Birmingham 2000), which provides a summary of research information on the health status of people in prison, including comparisons with the wider population.
§ Dr. MurrisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been put in place to ensure that prisoners receive prompt thrombolysis. [121344]
§ Paul GogginsPrisons and their local Primary Care Trusts are working in partnership to secure the best possible health outcomes for prisoners. They will be taking full account of the review of the Coronary Heart Disease National Service Framework thrombolysis targets to ensure that prisoners who suffer heart attacks are treated as promptly as possible.