Under-fire NHS trust to pull its care services from region's prisons

MOVE AIMS TO ALLOW SCOPE TO MEET DEMANDS FOR IMPROVEMENT

- JOSHUA HARTLEY

SCANDAL-HIT Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has said it will no longer provide care to prisoners across the East Midlands so it can fix its other failing services.

It has been revealed the trust served notice on its offender health contracts last month, signalling its intention to stop providing care to seven prisons and an immigration centre.

In an email to staff about the changes, the trust's board members said they felt it was better for another provider to take over care while it desperately tries to improve and appease regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The CQC demanded the trust make improvements as part of a review conducted under section 48 of the Health and Social Care Act after mental health patient Valdo Calocane killed Ian Coates, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber in Nottingham on June 13, 2023.

Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust's board said it had been difficult recruiting into prison healthcare services on a sustainable basis and suggested a specialist provider could be more successful.