He was cold. His shivering was so intense it was more like a palsy. The surgery receptionist ignored his growing distress. He had been sitting in the freezing cold waiting room for over two hours. The door stood open letting in a draught that cut through his thin clothes. He was wearing three layers – all the clothes he had.
Bill was 88 years old with sores on his legs and needing to get his dressings changed. Scandalous that in any NHS run medical facility an elderly and vulnerable person should be treated in this way. In a GP surgery or a hospital Bill’s story would make headlines throughout Britain.
But this is HMP Brixton. The surgery receptionist is a prison officer – and this prison officer didn’t care at all about Bill’s distressed state.
There are a growing number of elderly people in our prisons. In HMP Wandsworth there was an elderly prisoner who was bed-ridden. He lay in his cell all day unvisited except when another prisoner brought his food.
In HMP Littlehey there is an entire wing for prisoners over the age of 65 although not all of the older prisoners want to go there not wanting to feel like they are moving into God’s waiting room. One might think that this would create the opportunity for more specially trained staff. But this used to be a Young Offenders Institute – the staff are the same and the Prison Officers Union won’t agree to any change.
According to the Prison Health Research Network, “As compared with their contemporaries outside prison, older prisoners have a higher prevalence of disease, particularly chronic conditions such as cerebrovascular and vascular disease, respiratory problems, infectious diseases and substance abuse.”
They go on to explain that prison health services are designed for a much younger prison population.
In 2002 France created a formal process for the early release of prisoners who were elderly or chronically ill and having them serve the rest of their sentence in the community under a system that restricts their distance of movement from their authorised address. The system is humane, effective, far cheaper than the British system and is able to provide better and more appropriate health care.
The number of prisoners over the age of 60 in the UK has more than doubled in the past ten years and the numbers over 50 make up nearly 10% of the prison population – a result of longer sentences, a greater use of prison rather than community service orders and the prosecution of historic offences. It is time for a French style review.
Bill is an American. He has been in this country since 1944. He was arrested in about 2012 for an offence he committed in the early 1950s and will be released next year – if he survives. At the age of 90 he will be deported to a country where he has no friends or family.
* Richard Edwards is a pseudonym for a contributor who wishes to remain anonymous
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7 Comments
The first few lines of this article lead me to believe it was about Cameron’s future NHS. Privatised – so that when you lie in a ward suffering, you have the consolation that somewhere in the City, a guy is adding up his bonus, thanks to you.
What a pity john problem chose to ignore the content of this forceful and painful post to make his preset point.
“[HMP Littlehey] used to be a Young Offenders Institute – the staff are the same and the Prison Officers Union won’t agree to any change.”
But according to Wikipedia :-
The site was originally known as Gaynes Hall Youth Custody Centre, and was used as a borstal for juvenile males from 1945 to 1983, when the establishment was closed and demolished. Littlehey was built in its place and opened as a Category C prison for adult males in 1988.
I’m afraid this doesn’t give me much confidence in the rest of the information in this anonymous article – most of which is unverifiable.
I think Stuart needs to check with the Ministry of Justice, which is more likely to give accurate information about Littlehey than Wikipedia. See https://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder/littlehey. To quote:
“HMP/Young Offender Institute (YOI) Littlehey is a purpose build Category C prison which holds convicted and sentenced adults and young adults within the YOI.
There are 12 residential units, 6 of which are ‘Ready to Use’ Units (RTUs), one added in 1997 and the second in 2003 and 4 added in 2010 within the YOI side.
In January 2010, HMP Littlehey opened a large expansion to its current site to accommodate a population of up to 480 young offenders. This significant investment at the Littlehey site has allowed for the addition of four new accommodation blocks, an all weather sports pitch, gymnasium, adult learning centre and kitchen buildings. The regime will focus upon providing young offenders with a portfolio of skills and qualifications to change their futures. “
@Mary Reid
The MoJ blurb you quote massively reinforces what I said.
There is nothing in it to support the anonymous OP’s assertion that Littlehey “used to be a YOI”.
So what we have here is an anonymously written article, mainly about an anonymous prisoner, and with massive errors where the information given is verifiable. Why should I believe any of it? Very poor stuff.
I have worked in a prison health service at HMP Birmingham. . Healthcare is not as good as it could be, but then it is tough to give to healthcare in an environment where you have to be alert for violence, But Bills shaking and shivering could easily be drug withdrawal and nothing to do with any draughts. Since all prisoners get the same clothing I doubt if Bill was any worse off than anyone else.
I would be fascinated to know what Bill did in the 1950’s that was so heinous he was prosecuted over 50 years later…..but served less than 5 years…………
There is a lot about this piece that does not make sense. But the prison population like the general population is getting older……and prisons are NOT designed to cope with the health needs of the elderly. But then the prisons are not designed to cope with the health needs of the handicapped, or those with chronic diseases, so the elderly are not alone in that respect.
Prison isn’t perfect…..but then IMO a bigger issue is that fact that so many inmates have addiction and/or mental health problems. if we dealt with those better the prisons would be a lot emptier and that would be better for everyone including the elderly inmates.
I used to be an OU tutor, and I had during that time I had two students (different years, different prisons) who were prisoners. This involved me in visiting the prisons at about monthly intervals, talking to the education officers and fellow tutors. This article doesn’t surprise me in the least.
Compared to outside, the prisoners – and to a lesser extent, those who provide services to them – have very little control over the details of their life. Inevitably, timely medical attention, choice of clothing and opportunities for timely exercise all suffer. I tried to imagine the psychological adjustments a prisoner must make to allow for this.
Two examples: on one occasion, I arrived at the prison (over an hours journey from home) to be told that my student was unavailable; he had been called by the authorities to an interview or hearing; neither he nor the education officer had any notice of this. The second example was when I was taking one of four different classes being held in one medium sized office.
I was well aware of the security considerations, as I was thoroughly briefed on them by the OU and an officer at the first prison I went to. Tutoring in a prison was a rewarding experience, but an unsettling one. After a few hours inside, I really needed to wind down. Being inside for days, weeks or years was not to be contemplated. I must say that I had no bad experiences with anybody I met there – prisoners or staff . It was the restrictions and lack of control of life that impressed itself on me.