Inmates at Wormwood Scrubs will have a new health service provider from April.
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) is stepping down from its role after more than a decade at the helm. getwestlondon believe the new provider to be Care UK.
CNWL made great strides in helping prisoners suffering from substance abuse and mental health issues, and built up a productive partnership with prison authorities, it said.
Dr Farrukh Alam and senior nurse Steve Tutty visited the prison, near White City , in 2003 after the CNWL was invited by the governor following unsafe practise in the treatment of those with substance misuse disorders.
Dr Alam said: “Steve Tutty and I undertook a needs assessment. We found a nine-bedded unit with treatment being offered that was rapid, not evidence-based and clinically unsafe. These procedures were insufficient for the needs of the prisoners."
They were able to develop a 54-bed stabilisation unit, called the Conibeere Unit, and a post-stabilisation wing, for continued treatment, with the aim of recovery from dependence. Conibeere now looks after about 1,500 people each year.
The quality of these services has also been recognised in recent inspections by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Dr Alam continued: “What I enjoyed about our time at Wormwood Scrubs was working in partnership with the primary care organisation, with the prison officers, and with primary and secondary care services in the community, when required. I believe our clinicians have developed a safe and effective service, despite the constraints of working in a busy London prison.
“We hope the new services continue to manage and develop the quality and effectiveness of the services we’ve developed.”
