Avoidable harm in prison healthcare
Participant type
Overview
This study is no longer looking for new participants but is still ongoing.
This study seeks to understand the scale and nature of avoidable harm in prison healthcare.
Summary
What is the study about?
People in prison are entitled to NHS treatment for their physical and/or mental health needs in the same way that people in the wider community are. For most people, contact with healthcare services is a good thing, and their health improves as a result. Sometimes, however, things go wrong and that is what we mean when we talk about harm in healthcare. When things such as this goes wrong, it can make a person’s health worse.
Being in prison should not make people’s health worse and services are responsible to make sure that doesn’t happen, especially when such harm can be avoided. We know a lot about how to avoid patient harm outside prison but there is not the same detailed knowledge about the services delivered in prisons.
What are you trying to find out?
The aim of this study is to explore how often and why avoidable patient harm in prison healthcare happens. As part of this, we are talking to people in prison, prison staff and family and/or friends of people in prison to hear their thoughts about types of avoidable patient harm in prison healthcare. This will help us make recommendations to how healthcare in prisons can be made safer.
What does taking part involve?
This study is no longer looking for new participants but is still ongoing.
If you agree to take part, a researcher will go through a consent form with you to confirm you are happy to take part and a date and time to complete the interview will be arranged. It will take place in a private room or space within the prison. We will ask for your permission to audio record the interview to ensure accuracy. Areas we will talk about include: what you think about types of avoidable patient harm in prison and your experiences of this; what impact any such incident has had on you, and; what you think could improve patient safety in prison and whether you think there are any challenges to being able to do this. We expect the interview to last approximately one hour.
How can I find out more?
This study is no longer looking for new participants but is still ongoing.
However, if you have questions for the research team, click the button below to email us:
Collaborators
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