Faster medical attention for prisoners in police custody

Paul Whitehouse

MEDICAL care arrangements for prisoners in police custody have proved successful in the four months since they were introduced.

Changes were recommended as long ago as 2003, and during two inquests into the deaths of prisoners who had been detained by officers, Coroner Christopher Dorries suggested that police should consider employing nurses within custody suites.

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A new system was introduced in September and has led to a dramatic reduction in the time taken for medical staff to respond to calls to attend prisoners.

Responsibility for answering those calls is now in the hands of Medacs Managed Healthcare, which has taken over from the old system of using police surgeons, who took an average of two hours to attend.

The new system required Medacs staff to attend at least 70 per cent of calls within an hour, and by October they were averaging 88 per cent within that timescale.

During December, clinicians attended calls to custody suites in an average of 34 minutes. At Thorne, Doncaster, medics turned up in an average of 12 minutes, though in Moss Way, Sheffield, prisoners had to wait an average of 47 minutes for attention.

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The arrangements also reduce the workload for custody suite staff, who previously had to spend up to 30 minutes making telephone calls to locate a police surgeon able to attend.

In contrast, calls to alert Medacs to the need for help last an average of one minute.

The new arrangements are more expensive than the old system, but it is anticipated the system will result in savings through efficiency.

There has already been a reduction of 29 per cent in the amount of constant supervision of prisoners needed, when compared to the four months before Medacs took over.

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According to a South Yorkshire Police Authority report, teething problems with the new system have been “speedily resolved”.

“Efficiency savings are anticipated as a result of this contract,” states the report. They include “savings on overtime as a result of reductions in the time spent conducting constant supervision”.

The full extent of the potential savings will be reviewed by finance experts at a future meeting.