Friday, 27 November 2020
Incidents of self-harm have increased “dramatically” at Bronzefield Prison in Ashford
The
prison is the largest women’s prison in Europe.
The
Independent Monitoring Boards has published its annual report, taking into
account the Covid 19-pandemic.
It says
in spite of only one positive prisoner early in the pandemic, prisoners were
locked in their cells for 23 hours a day.
It says
the cost to mental health is reflected in an increase in the monthly incidents
of self-harm to 261 in July this year.
That’s
compared to a monthly average of 141 in the year to July 2019.
A repeat
survey has also highlighted, that once again, approximately 60% of women are
discharged from Bronzefield homeless.
The IMB
observed that the demands of the healthcare unit were at times excessive.
It says
that was owing to the numbers of prisoners needing the facility due to their
severe and complex mental health issues.
posted by Radio Jackie News Team @ 1:49 pm
