Rights to healthcare and decent living conditions in prisons being violated, new research
Urgent reforms to prison healthcare services are needed after a decade of austerity.
This is the message of two new briefings, published by researchers at the University of Bristol. We are partnering with Bristol to highlight the impact of austerity on prison healthcare.
The first briefing, on prison healthcare, finds that more then a decade of austerity has resulted in a deterioration in healthcare for prisoners in England. Indeed, inadequate access to acute and urgent healthcare services, such as operations and cancer treatment, increased the rate of death and disability among the prison population.
The second briefing, on prison funding, argues that cuts to budgets and staffing have left English prisons unable to provide safe environments for rising prison populations. Silence and a lack of meaningful actions to challenge austerity, it adds, have resulted in prisoners’ rights to access healthcare and decent living conditions in prisons being violated, and compromised working conditions for the prison workforce.
The two briefings form part of an ongoing dialogue and awareness-raising process being supported by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. Other outputs will include advocacy toolkits, due for publication in early 2023.
If you want to find out more about the project, or to offer feedback, you can contact the project lead at the University of Bristol, Dr Nasrul Ismail.