Rapidly aging population sees prisons increasingly providing care services

Prisons are increasingly playing the role of care homes and hospices as rising numbers of older criminals are jailed, a watchdog has said.

A rapidly ageing prison population drove a 15% increase in the number of deaths from natural causes behind bars in 2014-15, according to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) Nigel Newcomen.

Longer sentences and more prosecutions brought against older defendants for historic sex offences mean the trend is set to continue, he said.

In his annual report, Mr Newcomen cited a recent case of a 94-year-old prisoner who died after falling out bed in his cell after being removed from his care home to serve a sentence.

He commended the prison for the care given to the man, adding: “However, the case also exemplified for me the way that prisons, designed for fit young men, have had to adjust to the largely unplanned roles of care home and even hospice.”

The ombudsman started investigations into 155 deaths attributed to natural causes in 2014-15, which was 15% higher than the previous year.

Although the deaths were not exclusively among older prisoners, most were. The average age of death was 58.

Mr Newcomen said it is “remarkable” that the fastest growing segment of the prison population is inmates aged over 60, followed by those over 50.

“Longer sentences and more late-in-life prosecutions for historic sex offences mean that this ageing prisoner profile – and rising numbers of associated natural cause deaths – will become an ever more typical feature of our prison system,” he added.

In most of the deaths probed, investigators found that the standard of healthcare was of an equivalent standard to what they might expect in the community, while the quality of end-of-life care appears to be improving, according to the report.

However, it said provision remains “variable” and occasionally “unacceptable”. There were too many cases where seriously ill and immobile prisoners were restrained without adequate justification, the ombudsman found.

Overall there were 250 deaths in custody in 2014/15 – a rise of 5% compared to the previous year.

There were 76 self-inflicted fatalities, which was a 16% fall. However, Mr Necomen said the number “remains unacceptably high”.

The PPO investigated almost 5,000 complaints, with the most common topic being lost, damaged and confiscated property.

There was also a 23% increase in complaints about staff behaviour, including allegations of assault and bullying.

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