Residents at His Majesty’s Prison Leyhill, which is a Category D prison holding people who are preparing to return to the community, told Healthwatch Bristol about their experiences of mental health care.
Key findings
- People in prison experiencing poor mental health is a recognised issue. Rates of severe mental illness are 10 times those in the general population.
- Nine out of 10 people in prison have at least one mental health, neurodevelopmental or substance use problem and many have experienced trauma.
- The experience of residents with the mental health provision at HMP Leyhill was largely positive.
- People often felt listened to, supported and felt that they received better healthcare than was available at previous prisons or in the community.
- Some prisoners believed there were gaps or weaknesses in the service, and we have reflected these experiences in our report to highlight areas where changes could further benefit mental wellbeing in the prison population.
Download the full report below.
What did we hear?
I’ve had some difficulty since coming in. My dad passed away in August, but they were supportive. They listened to me more than in my previous prison.
When I first got here they said oh do you want to see mental health? It took like a month, just over a month and in the end I just thought, what’s the point? I finally got to see him and he said, oh, I’ll see you next month. It’s a nightmare.
I cope by self-isolating basically.
Within five minutes of me getting into reception and sitting down waiting to be processed, the neurodiversity manager had come in to see me specifically. She’d been emailed by my last prison so that was really good.
What is a category D prison?
Male prisons organised into four categories.
Category D prisons are open prisons. These prisons have minimal security and allow eligible prisoners to spend most of their day away from the prison on licence to carry out work, education or for other resettlement purposes. Open prisons only house prisoners that have been risk-assessed and deemed suitable for open conditions.