Prison health care: work environment and the nursing role

This article, the first in a new series on prison nursing, gives an overview of the world of prison nursing and the environmental factors that make it so different from other types of nursing. It welcomes the recommendation in the report 'Patient or Prisoner: A New Strategy for Health Care in Prisons' (HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales, 1996) that the NHS should be responsible for providing health care for prisoners and the recent publication of the report of the Joint Prison Service/NHS Executive Working Group 'Future Organization of Prison health Care' (Department of Health, 1999), which endorses a formal partnership between the NHS and prison service. The article highlights the benefits that this will have for prison nurses who often feel professionally isolated. The role of the nurse working in the prison healthcare environment is outlined. The work of prison nurses differs from the role of nurses working in other healthcare situations as it is controlled by environmental factors associated with regimes, security and the prison culture. However, changes are taking place and a closer link with local services is envisaged. These changes are an excellent opportunity for nurses and nursing to establish a clear role in prisons and to develop further healthcare standards in the prison service.