NOMS regions
Health and Social Care Pathway Group
The Wales Health and Social Care Pathway Group is one of nine sub-groups that are taking forward the Joining Together in Wales strategy.
This group has been established to take forward the aims of the Health and Social Care pathway in Joining Together in Wales (new window), the joint NOMS Wales and Welsh Assembly Government strategy to reduce re-offending, which are:
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to ensure that all offenders in Wales, both in prison and in the community, receive high quality healthcare that meets their needs and is equitable with that provided for other members of the public, and to help them to improve their health
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to identify the health and social care needs of offenders in prison and in the community
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to put in place measures to ensure that offenders have access to health and social care services appropriate to their needs, ensuring that a seamless service is developed throughout the criminal justice system so that offenders have continuity of care
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to develop policies in prisons to promote health, developing an environment in prisons which actively supports health as part of the decency agenda
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to provide the advice and support that offenders need to take steps to improve their own health, and support the development of health education and health promotion initiatives with emphasis on education and life skills
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to provide guidance and training to prison and probation staff and to healthcare staff working with offenders to maximise the contribution that offenders’ improved health and mental health can make to reducing re-offending
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to promote the use of common systems to share information between appropriate agencies on the mental and physical health of offenders, with their informed consent
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to ensure close collaboration with health and social care providers in the management of offenders who are seriously mentally ill, and those who may be vulnerable to suicide or self-harm while they are in prison or in the community
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to meet the needs of particularly vulnerable groups of offenders, such as prisoners on remand, older prisoners and those with substance misuse problems
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to develop a health and social care services-wide strategy for offenders in the community, in consultation with key stakeholders
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ensure all young people supervised by the Youth Offending Team have access to suitable and sustainable general and specialist healthcare provision based on individual need. There should be a special emphasis on those serving custodial sentence.
