Prisoner drug overdoses at a privately run prison in Salford have almost doubled since 2021, an exclusive Independent article reveals.
HMP Forest Bank is a men’s private prison in the Agecroft area of Pendlebury in Salford.
The prison is operated by Sodexo Justice Services, a global management company working in partnership with private sector clients to “design, deliver and support their frontline services.”
The Independent reported that the prison “recorded 149 overdoses between January and December of last year – up from 76 over the same period in 2021.”
In His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMI Prisons) 2022 report “40 per cent of prisoners…said it was easy to obtain illicit drugs” the Independent revealed.
A key recommendation of the report said: “Leaders should take robust and sustainable action to reduce the availability of illicit items.
“Illicit items such as mobile phones and drugs have been easily available in the prison and had fuelled debt and associated violence.”
According to The Independent, HMI Prisons found that “steps had been taken to address Forest Bank’s drug problem but illegal substances remained ‘easily available’.”
A spokesperson for Forest Bank added: “We fully acknowledge that some areas require improvement, however we have increased levels of management for self-harm incidents (including drug overdoses) with a comprehensive improvement programme to access and support prisoner safety.”
HMI Prisons’ most recent Forest Bank prisoners survey found that 76 percent of inmates answered “no” when asked if “any member of staff has talked to you in the last week about how you are getting on.”
The survey also revealed 41 per cent said it was “very difficult” to get access to a mental health worker compared to just seven per cent who said it was “very easy” too.
Additionally, 27 percent said it was “very difficult” to get in contact with a substance abuse worker with only nine per cent saying it was “very easy.”
The Office for National Statistics released an article this year reviewing drug-related deaths in prisons over a span of 11 years and found they have been on an incline since 2017.
Forest Bank say they are “fully committed to providing a safe environment to those who live and work in the prison and are continually reviewing how we can improve.”
Forest Bank has recently introduced “challenge, support and intervention plans (CSIPs).”
They said the CSIPs process was “well embedded and prisoners were offered support from the accredited programmes’ team through one-to-one sessions or in-cell work, which was a positive initiative.”
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