Health protection in prisons report 2009-2010

Synopsis

The 136 prisons and young offender institutions (YOIs) in England and Wales have a population of over 80,000 people at any one time. The prison population is transient, with nearly 200,000 prisoners passing through the
system annually. Prisons represent an important opportunity to access hard-to-reach groups that may otherwise have poor contact with health services.

Prisoners are entitled to the same standard of healthcare and treatment as the general public. For the past four years, Offender Health has commissioned the Health Protection Agency (HPA) to develop and jointly deliver a
programme to survey and prevent infectious diseases in prisons.

The work programme for 2009-2010 covered  three key areas: improving infectious disease surveillance, the hepatitis B vaccination monitoring programme, and information and communication. This report outlines the
progress made in meeting the objectives of the work programme in these key areas.

Additional information

Prison Infection Prevention Team

Last reviewed: 16 March 2011