Identifying Health Needs and Risks of Prisoners: A survey of health, smoking, drinking, drug use and treatment amongst prisoners in the South East

Prisons have until comparatively recently been closed institutions with a very limited interface with health services on the outside. A policy context for bringing together Prisons and Health and Social Services has developed over the last eight years. The first significant report was Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons report “Patient or Prisoner”1 which drew attention to the disparity between NHS and Prison healthcare. It recommended that the NHS include prisons within its orbit of responsibility. “The Future Organisation of Prison Healthcare”, 19992, recommended the setting up of a

Taskforce to develop the Prison/NHS Partnership. “Improving Healthcare for Prisoners, 2000”3 laid out the timetable for

action; each prison is now expected to receive health services equivalent to those offered in the community. As a result of this from 2001 each prison was required to have its own Health Improvement Programme, which is part of the NHS local plan.