Posted on: 15 January 2024
Key stakeholders for CNWL’s Health and Justice Services gathered at The Clink Conference Centre at HMP High Down on Friday 12 January to share the fantastic progress made in the Surrey Prisons over the past 10 months since “go live” of the new Integrated Healthcare Contract on 1 April 2023.
The event was also an opportunity to look forward to year two of this contract and present several innovative projects that are up and running.
The event was well attended, with NHSE Commissioners, Prison Governors, Police Representatives, Surrey County Council and CNWL staff among those in attendance. Dame Carol Black also joined by video link.
Attendees also had the chance to see our new Traka lockers in action. These automated lockers will be used to dispense medication, freeing up pharmacists’ time and giving patients more independence.
In their opening address, Patrick Gillespie, Service Director, and Lorna Cox, Senior Commissioning Manager from NHS England, explained that the main aims of the directorate are to provide a psychologically informed service that uses co-production to take a “whole prison approach”.
That means putting the patient at the heart of everything it does, making use of lived experience staff to ensure the patient is getting the best possible treatment.
Lorna added: “The amount we’ve achieved is down to everyone’s hard work and dedication and we now want to build on what we already have to get an equitable and gold-standard service.”
Dan Hayes, Deputy Director for Health and Justice, echoed their words and gave a summary of the transformation period so far.
He emphasised the fact that this is a partnership – “The word of the day is ‘we’”, he said.
“We wouldn’t be where we are today without our partners”
“We’ve pooled and consolidated our knowledge, and worked hard to get the results we want.”
Dr Louise Minchin, Consultant Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, spoke about how CNWL and its partner organisations are navigating complex systems in prisons across Surrey.
We then heard from the men’s and women’s service lines. Speakers explored the unique challenges that are thrown up by each and shared how they have innovated to overcome these and improve care.
After teas and coffees, attendees heard from partner organisations Spark Inside, Women in Prison and Forward Trust, who spoke about the past 10 months working with CNWL.
Closing the event was Satinder Sahota, Clinical Director for H&J, and Mark Maguire, Interim Managing Director for Diggory.
Harking back to the theme of teamwork, which was touched on by all speakers, they thanked staff for their tireless efforts, encouraging them to continue to innovate in order to stay at the forefront of prison healthcare.
Mark highlighted how impressed he was with the directorate’s relentless desire to improve. He loved how every speaker wasn’t satisfied with their good results; they all spoke about how they want to get even better in the coming 12 months.