Resources for Secure Environments
Providing healthcare in secure environments such as prisons, secure hospitals, young offender institutions and immigration removal centres presents unique challenges for GPs and primary care professional.
Dementia
Alzheimer’s Society. The Prison Project: Raising Awareness of Dementia in Prisons
The Prisons Project was set up to raise awareness of dementia among prison staff and residents in order to increase the diagnosis rate in an ageing population.
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman Learning Lessons bulletin (Issue 11, July 2016)
This PPO Learning Lessons Bulletin explores the experience of prison residents with dementia and the challenges that prisons face when providing appropriate care and support for this vulnerable group of people.
Mental Health Foundation
The Mental Health Foundation's report 'Losing Track of Time. Dementia and the ageing prison population: treatment challenges and examples of good practice (2013)' set out to scope existing research on treating and managing male offenders with cognitive impairment and to identify and share examples of good practice.
HM Prison & Probation Service
In 2020, the Justice Select Committee of the House of Commons published the findings of their inquiry Ageing prison population. It identified the specific needs of the older population in prison, including accommodation, regime, health and social care needs, and release and resettlement planning.
Dementia-Friendly Communities and Local Dementia Action Alliances (LDAA)
At a local level, the Alzheimer’s Society supports communities to become dementia friendly. Until recently, the formation of Local Dementia Action Alliances was encouraged to provide structure for Dementia Friendly Communities (DFCs). Groups, made up of people from different sectors, were encouraged to set up a steering group and create a formal action plan to be published and updated on their local DAA website. While LDAAs continue, and can work towards DFC criteria to become officially recognised, some groups have found the formality surrounding LDAAs to be challenging.
New groups are being encouraged to use a more flexible approach, to establish an informal DFC steering group and to appoint a leader to facilitate a link between community members and the Alzheimer’s Society. There is a BSI PAS1365: A code of practice for dementia-friendly communities which recommends key areas for action to guide DFCs. The Alzheimer’s Society has DFC Officers who can support both newer, less formal DFCs and LDAAs (see web link and email contact details).
Get in touch by emailing: DementiaFriendlyCommunities@alzheimers.org.uk
HMP Littlehey action plan
HMP Littlehey is a member of a local DAA. They have an action plan for transforming care of residents with dementia by: raising awareness among staff and prison residents, joint working, and improving the physical environment. It is published on the link below.