Care At Immigration Centre Slammed

{mosimage} Healthcare at the Government’s flagship immigration detention centre has been criticised. Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers made 48 recommendations to improve health services at the Yarl’s Wood centre, near Bedford, which houses failed asylum seekers and other immigration detainees.

A report said the facilities were not geared up to the needs of detainees with serious health problems or those held for long periods.

Healthcare for short stayers was usually adequate but there were a series of flaws including inadequate staff training, the 40-page study said.

Ms Owers said: “Underpinning systems were inadequate and the healthcare service was not geared to meet the needs of those with serious health problems or the significant number of detainees held for longer periods.

“This was true for detainees in general and for the care of the two specific detainees whose care had prompted the review.

“This review also adds weight to a growing concern among medical and other commentators that the increased use of immigration detention raises serious concerns about the mental health of detainees, particularly in cases of prolonged detention of uncertain duration and where detainees arrive with underlying health problems.”