The development of care services for older people in prison

Abstract

AbstractPrisons are 'closed' institutions and, as such, access by the general public is controlled and restricted. Historically, the separate care needs of older people have not been recognised and they have been treated as part of the whole prison population. Until recently, the Prison Service in the UK could claim Crown immunity from health and social care legislation that would apply to the general population. This has had to change as the over 60s have become the fastest-growing age group in the prison population. EU treaty obligations and High Court actions on human rights issues have led the UK Government to remove prison immunity. An example of this change may be found in the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 that now applies to prisons. However, despite this dramatic rise in the older prisoner population and new legislation, there is currently no mandatory requirement or national strategy for the care of older prisoners, although this is under consideration. With the transfer of prison healthcare...