Nacro, the crime reduction charity, is calling for urgent improvements in care for older prisoners across the country. The charity has found that services available for the elderly population are poor and inconsistent across prisons.
Nacro is launching a Working with Older Prisoners Pack to encourage better support and training provision to improve the lives of elderly people behind bars.
Despite being the fastest growing age group in prison, prisoners over 50 don’t have their basic needs catered for as most establishments are tailored for the younger population. On 31 March 2009 there were 7,358 prisoners aged over 50 in England and Wales, including 518 over 70.(1) Most will be serving long sentences and many will die in jail.
Sally Wentworth James, Senior Policy Adviser at Nacro says: “Prisoners age up to 10 years faster than their contemporaries in the community. Older prisoners are likely to suffer from health problems with 80% are likely to have a chronic illness or disability. In some cases the level of support is appalling. It is about time we take action to improve support and care in prisons and give older people to grow old or in some cases, die with dignity.”
“Prisoners should expect the same level of service as their community contempories, yet provision of nursing home care, care homes, aids to support mobility, access to occupational therapists and social workers is very weak.”
Daisy’s husband Jim, (mid 70s) has been in prison for three years. He has not had a shower for two and a half years and has recently become wheelchair bound. His wheelchair is too wide to fit through the shower door. Prison officers have regularly refused to push his wheelchair which has caused him to miss numerous hospital appointments. He has had many falls whilst trying to walk and officers have refused to pick him up. Not being able to wash has led to infections on his feet and his diabetes has worsened as he has not been able to access proper treatment.
Daisy says: “I get so angry at the way my husband has been treated. We are currently waiting for an appeal and I am watching him deteriorate and be humiliated. I try and stay strong for him but the whole process is very stressful and has affected my health, too.” (2)
Nacro ‘s Working with Older Prisoners sets out a practical guidance to help prisons improve their service to older prisoners. It raises awareness of the symptoms of illnesses older prisoners are prone to including strokes, cancer, depression and hypertension. As well as signposting specialist agencies that can support older prisoners, it explains how prison staff can make their lives easier.
To keep prisoners healthy, Nacro recommends access to pill prescriptions that prisoners had before incarceration, certain vitamins such as St Johns Wart, to lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, lessons on healthy eating, exercise classes to keep people active.
Copies of the pack are available via the Nacro website, charged at £65 which includes 4 identical discs of resources and activities, a resource pack and a workshop pack which will help you run your own awareness and training sessions.
ENDS
Further press information contact Olivia Ware on 020 7840 7216 or olivia.ware@nacro.org.uk
For information about the Working with Older Prisoners pack contact Sally Wentworth-James on 01273 700 431 or Sally.James@nacro.org.uk
Notes to Editors
(1) Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile, June 2009 (Prison Reform Trust, London)
(2) Names have been changed for data protection purposes
(3) Nacro, the national crime reduction charity, works with disadvantaged people, deprived communities and ex-offenders to give them a positive stake in society. It has unrivalled expertise in developing practical responses to crime and stimulating fresh thinking on how best to reduce it through policy, research and campaign work. Nacro runs preventive projects to steer young people away from crime, provides housing, education and employment programmes for ex-offenders and people at risk of offending, resettles prisoners into the community and works with families and communities to prevent crime. Every year Nacro works directly with over 90,000 people and many more benefit from our work with local, regional and national partners to help reduce crime. To find out more and for access to online information resources, please visit: www.nacro.org.uk
