Independent review of services for adults with a learning disability and autistic adults in Midlands prisons: Report of findings for NHS England

<p dir="ltr">In response to the NHS England publication, ‘Meeting the healthcare needs of adults with a learning disability and autistic adults in prison’, NHS England commissioned a series of regional reviews to understand the current landscape of service provisions for adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults in prison. We undertook the review across the East and West Midlands and the aim was to report on 15 questions posed by the commissioners. Broadly these set to understand what was working well, what was not and what needs to happen in relation to future service development, encompassing staff knowledge and understanding, screening and assessment, referral pathways, care planning and support, reasonable adjustments, information sharing and training. While the focus was prisons, it was recognised that prisons do not exist in isolation and therefore information was also sought from services pre-prison (such as Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion teams) and post-prison (such as The Probation Service). All twenty-six prisons across the region were within the scope of the review. The first stage of the review was a rapid review of existing evidence which has been published as a separate report (Rogers et al., 2022) but is summarised within the current report and outlined that while there were examples of good practice, there was no systematic approach to supporting adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults in prisons. A mixed methods approach was employed which encompassed collation of existing prevalence data from healthcare providers to each prison, prison staff questionnaires (including partner agency staff), pre- and post-prison services staff questionnaires, and interviews and focus groups with adults currently detained within the prisons. Twenty-four prisons responded to the review, with 175 prison staff responses, 16 pre- and post-prison staff responses, and discussions with 93 different people detained within prisons.</p>