HMP Eastwood Park: women held in bloodstained cells

Female prisoners with mental health conditions are being held in cells with bloodstains and scratches on the walls, a watchdog has found.

HMP Eastwood Park in South Gloucestershire has been given the lowest grade for safety.

Chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor said an inspector described conditions as the "worst he had ever seen" after an inspection last October.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the report was "deeply concerning".

An MoJ spokesperson said: "We are already addressing the serious issues it raises including appointing more staff and creating a new taskforce to improve women's safety at the prison."

Inspectors raised particular concerns about unit 4, a block which holds those under supervision, in segregation or awaiting transfer to a secure mental health facility.

Cells on the wing were described as "appalling, dilapidated and covered in graffiti", one was blood-splattered and some had extensive scratches on the walls.

The watchdog said this showed "distress" and the "degree of trauma" experienced by previous inmates.

The MoJ said that refurbishments to unit 4 have been undertaken and have "restored the specialist, therapeutic support that inspectors expect for the vulnerable women in our care there".

The report also said 83% of the 348 women held at the prison during the time of inspection reported having mental health problems.

It said inspectors found high levels of self-harm among the prisoners but case documents to support those at risk of self-harm and suicide were "very poor".

Inspectors found the use of force had increased since their last inspection and said the prison was "fundamentally unequipped to support the women in its care", adding that "leaders did not seem fully aware of the severity of the situation".

Mr Taylor, said: "Some of the most vulnerable women across the prison estate were held in an environment wholly unsuitable for their therapeutic needs.

"The levels of distress we observed were appalling. No prisoner should be held in such terrible conditions."

Mr Taylor said he was "deeply concerned" about the welfare of the "dedicated and courageous" staff on unit 4, saying they "were not adequately trained or qualified" to look after the women in their care.

He said staff received no clinical supervision, despite being "exposed to prisoners in great distress" and extreme levels of self-harm.

Prisoners were also often unable to attend education, skills and work activities because of staff shortages.

Inspectors said while there were some "pockets of excellent work" at the prison, the jail was "failing in its most basic duty" of keeping women safe and required "immediate and meaningful change".

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