Public health in prisons and secure settings
Resources to help health professionals treat and prevent infections and improve health and wellbeing in prisons and secure settings.
Infection control in prisons and secure settings
- Infection control in prisons and places of detention
- Preventing and managing bacterial wound infections in prison
- Group A streptococcal disease: information for people in prison
- Infection Inside International
- Chickenpox and shingles: infection control in prisons and other places of detention
- Multi-agency contingency plan for disease outbreaks in prisons
- Flu vaccination in prisons in London: programme audit
- Measles in prison: vaccination and infection control for staff and prisoners
- Managing tuberculosis (TB) in prisons
- Tuberculosis (TB): information for prison staff
Reporting single incidents and outbreaks
Healthcare staff in prisons and other secure settings report single incidents and outbreaks to the health protection teams in PHE centres.
You can also contact the national health and justice team for advice and guidance on health protection issues at Health-Justice@phe.gov.uk
Prison and secure settings health services
- Women in prison: standards to improve health and wellbeing
- Health outcomes in prisons in England: a rapid review
- Tuberculosis in prisons: the role of Public Health England
- Prison dental services in England and Wales: 2014 survey
- Hepatitis C service audit in a sample of prisons in England
- National survey of hepatitis C services in prisons in England
- Population screening: reducing inequalities in secure settings
Health needs assessment toolkits
Alcohol and drug treatment in prisons and secure settings
Managing potential exposure to blood-borne viruses
Improving testing and treatment rates for bloodborne viruses
- Blood-borne virus opt-out testing in prisons summary report 2017
- Blood-borne viruses: reports on opt-out testing in prisons
- Early lessons learnt from opt-out blood-borne virus testing policy in prisons: summary report
- Blood-borne virus opt-out testing in prisons: evaluation of pathfinder programme
- Improving testing rates for blood-borne viruses in prisons and other secure settings
Preventing offending and re-offending
Five nations health and justice collaboration
In February 2014, the World Health Organization Health in Prisons Programme Collaborating Centre (WHO HIPP CC) founded, with other member states, the ‘Five nations health and justice collaboration’ with England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The five nations meetings provide a forum for discussion, debate and collaboration for health and justice partners in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Their work also informs the work of PHE in its role as the UK Collaborating Centre for Health in Prisons (a partner of the WHO (European Region) Health in Prisons Programme) and facilitates sharing of best practice, mutual learning, and improved collective capability of health and justice partners in the five nations.
A joint meeting on prisons and health was held in December 2017 with WHO, EMCDDA and PHE. WHO HIPP have published The Conclusions of the WHO international meeting on prisons and health (2018) stating that prison health needs to be considered in all policies.
- Prison health: health and justice annual report
- Five nations health and justice collaboration: psychoactive substances
- WHO and PHE Health and Justice International: Copenhagen conference
- WHO and PHE Health and Justice International Conference: proceedings
- Five nations health and justice collaboration: terms of reference
Last updated 20 July 2021 + show all updates
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Added contact details for the national health and justice team.
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Addition to collection of 'Population screening: reducing inequalities in secure settings'
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Added new group (Alcohol and drug treatment in prisons and secure settings) and publications.
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Added updated Flu in the children and young people’s secure estate.
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Added 'Adults on probation in community' needs assessment.
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Added 'Blood-borne viruses: managing potential risk in emergency workers'.
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Added 'Blood-borne viruses: managing potential risk in emergency workers'.
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Added 'Preventing offending and re-offending by children' document.
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Added 'Preventing and managing bacterial wound infections in prison' document.
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Added 'Group A Streptococcal Disease: information for people in prison'.
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Added link to The Conclusions of the WHO international meeting on prisons and health (2018) publication.
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Added summary report of November 2017 event.
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Added 'Women in prison: standards to improve health and wellbeing' to 'Prison and secure settings health services' section.
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Health and social care needs assessments of the older prison population publication has been published.
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Added proceedings of the Copenhagen conference and 'Five Nations health & justice collaboration: psychoactive substances'.
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Added Health outcomes in prisons in England: a rapid review.
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Added proceedings from conference in Kyrgyzstan in October 2015.
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Added flu vaccination audit of London prisons.
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Added health needs assessment examples, and lessons learnt summary report.
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The 'Ebola: advice for immigration removal centres guidance' has been uploaded.
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First published.