Covid: Swansea prisoners make hundreds of PPE items

Prisoners in Swansea have made up to 300 protective clothing items a week for front-line healthcare staff.

A recent visit by HM Inspectorate of Prisons found workshops had been adapted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This helped cut the number of inmates kept in their cells for long periods.

Inspectors said the number of men training as cleaners increased in response to enhanced levels of hygiene, with 33 bio-hazard cleans carried out in the prison by newly trained inmates.

Overall the coronavirus-shortened scrutiny visit found HMP Swansea to be a "well-led establishment that, despite some weakness, had overall made good progress" since the start of the pandemic.

It follows some damning reports in recent years, including one which said the prison was "not fit for purpose" after failing to prevent eight suicides over six years, all by prisoners who had been in Swansea for less than a week.

The latest inspection reported two further suicides since the previous inspection in 2017 "soon after the prisoners arrived" and an action plan had been drawn up in response to recommendations by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

Swansea was once one of the UK's most overcrowded jails and according to a report compiled in July, it remained the ninth most overcrowded.

Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke said while Swansea had "progressed", managers needed to establish "appropriate oversight in the areas of self-harm prevention".

But Mr Clarke said improvements were needed in the care of those at risk of self-harm.

He found the scale of mental health problems in Swansea was extremely high, affecting almost eight in 10 inmates, which has prompted the introduction of a new crisis team.

The Victorian jail, which opened in 1861, has seen 12 prisoners and 10 staff test positive for coronavirus since March, but there has not been a positive case in a prisoner since April.

The inspector said a "good partnership" with the local health board, Public Health Wales and the Welsh Government meant every symptomatic prisoner was tested for Covid-19.

Prisoners were able to get out of their cells for about 90 minutes a day during the pandemic, with inspectors finding a far greater proportion were involved in "purposeful activity" than other prisons.

Even in areas where social distancing was possible, most prisoners were not staying 2m apart. But some measures introduced in response to the pandemic had cut bullying, such as canteen orders being delivered to cells.

"We found that managers had made significant progress during the Covid-19 pandemic," said Mr Clarke.

"Appropriate priority was given to keeping prisoners in work, maintaining some limited face-to-face education and continuing sentence and risk management.

"Outcomes for many prisoners at Swansea were better than at other local prisons."

The Prison Service said HMP Swansea had "played its part in the national effort" to tackle coronavirus and added as "restrictions are gradually easing, family visits have resumed".