For immediate release

Statement on good progress made at IRC Harmondsworth

A report from an unannounced inspection of IRC Heathrow (Harmondsworth) by the Chief Inspector of Prisons has been published (1 March)

Part of the inspection covered the health services at the Centre, which are provided by CNWL.

Claire Murdoch, Chief Executive at CNWL said about this section of the report: "I am very pleased to read about the real progress made by our healthcare staff at Harmondsworth. Detainees are a vulnerable population and this report registers real gains. There is still much to be done and we accept the points the inspectors make.

"I am particularly pleased mental health good practice is spelt out (‘The provision of a specialist service for detainees with experience of trauma or torture supported their needs in a realistic way that recognised the real risk of removal at any time during the therapy.') as I know that this is a particular area of concern.

"I want to thank the staff for their dedication in an environment with daily challenges. I am proud of the progress reported and know all issues will be addressed. But well done to the team."

The report says:

"Before the start of the current contract, the quality of health care provision had diminished to a poor level. There was evidence of clear leadership and improving service quality and there were active plans to ensure continued improvement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found no current breaches of the relevant regulations."

There are issues to be addressed:

"The current provider (CNWL) had taken over services a year before the inspection. Progress had been made with the provision of reasonable access to services and good care from nurses and GPs, although some weaknesses in the application system remained. Detainees waited too long to see the physiotherapist. The enhanced care unit had a poor environment and the diverse mix of men there was inappropriate. There were significant weaknesses in medicines management, and poor access to the health care unit to collect medicines caused much frustration. Detainees had good access to dental treatment. The care of detainees with long-term conditions was sound but care plans were not always used. Mental health provision had improved, with good provision for detainees with experience of trauma."

For mental health specifically they say:

"There was appropriate swift identification of serious mental needs, with regular psychiatrist sessions, links with the local low-secure unit and access to two beds, although need regularly exceeded capacity. ... Since September 2014, nine patients had been transferred under the Mental Health Act. A further five patients had been assessed as needing secondary care and were managed appropriately at the centre; three were subsequently removed and one detainee was released on temporary admission. The average time between assessment and admission was 29 days, with the longest wait being 44 days.

"Efforts were made to identify and link detainees being deported with equivalent services in their home countries. Detainees being bailed or released were linked with community teams. We were aware of four men for whom links had been made with their families and clinicians in the destination countries, mainly for Australia and the USA. Further work was being done to enable continuity of medication by researching what was available in the destination country; this had recently been done for an African man."

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Stephenson House, 75 Hampstead Road, London NW1 2PL
Tel: 020 3214 5756 e-mail:communications.cnwl@nhs.net