HMP BRONZEFIELD Prison Regime Info

UNLOCKING TIMES

ASSOCIATION

FACILITIES

HEALTH & SPORTS

Badminton
Basketball
Circuit Training
Light Circuit Training
Over 40s
Over 50s
Pilates
Remedial
Soft Tennis
Sports Field
Volleyball
 

LIBRARY

Open during core day with specific time-slots for each houseblock

FAITH

Every prison has a Chaplaincy department managed by a Co-ordinating Chaplain and supported by admin staff, other Chaplains and ‘Sessional Chaplains’ (faith leaders who visit for specific services or sessions). The Chaplaincy is considered an important part of the prison structure. When a prisoner arrives at a prison they are usually seen by a Chaplain within 24 hours and are invited to register as a specific religion (if they haven’t already done so) and can change their declared religion at any time.

The Chaplaincy does far more than just pastoral care; they often are able to lend radios, musical instruments and typewriters; they may take part in Sentence Planning and are available as a ‘listening ear’ and are able, sometimes, to help with domestic problems. Most Chaplaincies run various courses and activities which may or may not have a religious theme. Every prisoner has the right to follow their religious practices and attend Chapel for services pertaining to their declared faith (even when segregated).

The Chaplaincy are able to organise faith activities for all main religions (as recognised by the Prison Service; this does not, at present include Rastafarian as a specific religion) and contact faith representatives to visit individual or groups of prisoners for the purpose of religious activities. The chaplaincy can also intercede on matters of religious dress, diet and artefacts. A full list of permitted artefacts can be found in the Glossary Section under Religious Artefacts.

You can contact the Chaplaincy by letter or by telephoning the main prison number and asking to speak to the Chaplaincy. The Chaplaincy works as part of the prison and cannot, therefore, guarantee confidentiality (they can explain this to you in detail). Prisoners can contact the Chaplaincy in person or by Application.

Chaplaincy Statement of Purpose (HMPS)
The Chaplaincy is committed to serving the needs of prisoners, staff and religious traditions by engaging all human experience. We will work collaboratively, respecting the integrity of each tradition and discipline. We believe that faith and the search for meaning directs and inspires life, and are committed to providing sacred spaces and dedicated teams to deepen and enrich human experience. We contribute to the care of prisoners to enable them to lead law-abiding and useful lives in custody and after release.

The Co-ordinating Chaplain at Bronzefield is: Roy Howard
 

There is a full-time Methodist Chaplain and visiting Imam and Catholic Chaplain.

All faiths can be catered for.

HEALTHCARE

Bronzefield has Level 4 Healthcare provision with inpatient facilities for 18 women as well as a smaller 10-bed Help & Direction Unit which serves as an intermediary unit between Healthcare and main residence. Bronzefield also has a Separation & Care Unit.

NHS Healthcare Information for Bronzefield

Prison Healthcare Manager:
Tel: 01784 425690

PCT: Surrey Primary Care Trust
South East Coast Strategic Health Authority

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
PALS is there to help when you need advice, or wish to make a complaint. As a patient, relative or carer PALS provide confidential advice and support, helping you to sort out any concerns that you may have about any aspect of your NHS care.

The service aims to:
• advise and support patients, their families and carers
• provide information on NHS services
• listen to your concerns, suggestions or queries
• help sort out problems quickly on your behalf

PALS acts independently when handling patient and family concerns, liaising with staff, managers and where appropriate, relevant organisations to negotiate prompt solutions. If necessary they can also refer patients and families to specific local or national-based support agencies.

Contact Information

Email: pals@surreypct.nhs.uk

There is also a Dental Helpline for ALL NHS dental enquiries: 01702 226668
 

EDUCATION

Art
Basic Education
Computer Studies
Crafts
Creative Writing
Drama
English
Key Skills
Language
Life and Social Skills
Literacy
Maths
Music
Numeracy
Open University
 

OFSTED INSPECTION

OFSTED inspect education establishments from schools to colleges to prisons. They inspect education facilities within prisons and have inspected HMP Bronzefield

OFSTED NUMBER: 52257
To read their report click here.
 

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

Catering
Gardening
Horticulture
Industrial Cleaning
Laundry
Painting and Decorating
Sports Studies
 

BICS Levels 1 & 2
BSC - health and safety Awareness
Foundation Food Hygiene

CURRENT WAGES

OFFENCE FOCUSED COURSES

A - Z
Beacon
Drug Importers' Group
Family Matters
Four Seasons
Freedom
SAFE
Sex in the Modern World
 

RESETTLEMENT

LINK centre including a wide range of voluntary and third sector agency provision including Finance Benefit and Debt advisor, Job Centre Plus, and Next Steps Advice

FAMILY DAYS

FEMALE ESTATE ONLY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

PRISON PERFORMANCE
Ministry of Justice Performance Rating for this prison: 3
This is on a scale from 1 (serious concerns) to 4 (Exceptional) and is worked out by the Ministry of Justice taking into account 34 criteria such as overcrowding, purposeful activities etc. A score of 3 is considered a good performance. Published quarterly.

Average weekly hours of Purposeful Activity: 28.1
This figure is supplied by each prison to the Prison Service. Actual hours are usually dependent on activities etc. and should be taken as the maximum time either in workshops or education over a whole week.

Both of these figures are published retrospectively by the MoJ and HMPS and may have changed since the figures were published but they give a simple comparison between prisons.

VIDEO LINK
This prison has a Prison Video Link to compatible courts
 

Parliamentary Information
CONSTITUENCY: Spelthorne
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative)

Prisoners may write to either their ‘Home MP’ or the MP in whose constituency their current prison lies.
The address to write to is:
House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

EMAIL A PRISONER

This service operates at this prison. Email a Prisoner enables you to send messages to prisoners, in the UK and Irish prisons that operate the service, from any computer, without any of the hassles of writing and posting a letter, and it costs less than a second class stamp!

Your message is delivered to the prison within seconds so that it can be delivered to the prisoner by the prison staff in the next delivery.

It is free to sign up to Email a Prisoner and only takes a few seconds - all you need is an email address (EMaP can help you if you don't have an email address).

Once a member you will be able to send a message to any prisoner in the UK or Ireland, provided you know their prisoner number, from just 25 pence per message.

Click Here for link to Email a Prisoner website
 

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP)

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons for England and Wales (HMI Prisons) is an independent inspectorate which reports on conditions for, and treatment of, those in prisons, young offender institutions and immigration detention facilities. They provide independent scrutiny of the conditions for and treatment of prisoners and other detainees, promoting the concept of 'healthy prisons' in which staff work effectively to support prisoners and detainees to reduce reoffending or achieve other agreed outcomes.

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP) is appointed from outside the Prison Service, for a term of five years. The Chief Inspector reports to Ministers on the treatment of prisoners and conditions in prisons in England and Wales.

The Inspectorate’s programme of inspection is based on a mixture of chronology and risk assessment. Full inspections run on a five or three year cycle; all unannounced follow-up inspections run on a risk-assessed basis.

Full inspections
Prison establishments holding adults and young adults are inspected once every five years. Establishments holding juveniles are inspected every three years. This type of inspection lasts for at least one week. The Inspectorate collects information from many sources, including the people who work there, the people who are imprisoned or detained there, and visitors or others with an interest in the establishment. Inspection findings are reported back to the establishment’s managers. Reports are published within 16 weeks of inspection. The establishment is then expected to produce an action plan, based on the recommendations made within the report, within a short period following publication.

Full follow-up inspections
Follow-up inspections are unannounced and proportionate to risk. In full follow-up inspections inspectors assess progress made and undertake in-depth analysis of areas of serious concern identified in the previous full inspection, particularly on safety and respect.

Short follow-up inspections
Short follow-up inspections are also unannounced and conducted where the previous full inspection and their intelligence systems suggest that there are comparatively fewer concerns.

Escort inspections
Three escort inspections are conducted every year.

Pre-inspection visit
One month prior to each full announced inspection, an inspector will visit the establishment to plan the inspection and request a range of preliminary information. In addition, researchers will attend to conduct a confidential survey of a representative proportion of the prisoner population. Results from the prisoner survey are provided for inspectors prior to the inspection and constitute an important source of evidence.

The inspection
All inspections are conducted against the Inspectorate's published inspection criteria, 'Expectations'. Expectations' are based on international human rights standards, as well as Prison Service Orders and Standards, and over all issues considered essential to the safe, respectful and purposeful treatment of prisoners in custody and their effective resettlement.
'Expectations' is the document which sets out the detailed criteria HMI Prisons uses to appraise and inspect prisons. These criteria are used to examine every area of prison life, from reception to resettlement, including;

• safer custody
• health services
• good order
• work
• diversity
• resettlement

The concept of a healthy prison is one that was first set out by the World Health Organisation, but it has been developed by this Inspectorate, and is now widely accepted as a definition of what ought to be provided in any custodial environment. It rests upon four key tests:

• safety: prisoners, even the most vulnerable, are held safely
• respect: prisoners are treated with respect for their human dignity
• purposeful activity: prisoners are able, and expected, to engage in activity that is likely to benefit them
• resettlement: prisoners are prepared for release into the community, and helped to reduce the likelihood of reoffending

Post-inspection action
Inspection reports are published within 16 weeks of the inspection. Prior to publication, the Prison Service (or whoever is responsible for the establishment) is invited to correct any factual inaccuracies within the report. The establishment is then expected to produce an action plan, based on the recommendations made in the report, within two months of publication. A progress report on the action plain is produced after a further 12 months.
 

HMCIP REPORT
Last Inspection by HMCIP: October 2007 (Unannounced Follow-Up Inspection)

They said:

"HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Middlesex, is a privately-managed local prison for women run by Kalyx. This unannounced short follow-up inspection found that the prison, which opened in 2004, was continuing to provide a reasonably safe and respectful environment for its needy and challenging population. Inspectors also found that, while access to purposeful activity had slipped back, work on resettlement had improved.

"Bronzefield remained a reasonably safe place. Reception was clean and bright, but very busy and, while procedures were satisfactory, information giving needed to be improved. Staff were vigilant in confronting bullying. Use of force, adjudications and segregation were now better monitored, but use of the special cells in healthcare needed to be more tightly managed. There had been some improvements in detoxification arrangements.

"Unfortunately, self-harm remained endemic and, while staff managed relevant systems adequately, these needed to be more multi-disciplinary. There was also a need to develop a more therapeutic approach and to move away from the overuse of strip-clothing for women at risk.

"Overall, Bronzefield remained a generally respectful prison, with clean, well maintained accommodation and reasonable food. However, it was disappointing to find that staff–prisoner relationships had deteriorated since our last visit. The supportive approach to prisoners that we previously commended had not been sustained and staff inexperience remained a problem. Matters were not helped by weaknesses in the personal officer and incentives and earned privileges schemes, and ineffective application and complaint systems.

"Race relations work was adequate, but there had been little progress on our previous recommendations to improve arrangements for the significant numbers of foreign national women. General health services were reasonably good, but there was still a lack of primary mental health care. It was also unacceptable that some important disease prevention and screening services were not delivered because they were not specified in the establishment’s contract.

"Time out of cell remained good at the time of the inspection, but the contractually specified hours had not been met over the summer months and we were concerned that it was planned to cut hours because of difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff. Learning and skills provision was barely adequate and staff shortages impeded prisoner access to activities.

"Commendably, most of our concerns about resettlement had been addressed, although there were still no custody plans for women serving short sentences. Public protection arrangements had improved, and drug services were generally good. Visiting arrangements were satisfactory, but could be improved further.

"Bronzefield only opened in June 2004, and its largely inexperienced staff have had to learn to cope with some very damaged women. Unfortunately, not all staff have been able to maintain the caring and thoughtful approach that we found on our previous visit and high staff turnover has meant that new staff have entered an establishment under considerable strain. Overall, while there is much still to commend at Bronzefield, it is disappointing that there has not been more progress after such a good start."

Anne Owers January 2008
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons

Click here to read the full report

Click here to read the Full Report of the last Full Inspection (Large File 2MB)
 

Independent Monitoring Board

By law every prison and immigration removal centre must have an Independent Monitoring Board. IMBs in prisons derive their responsibilities from the Prison Act 1952 (Section 6). Prison Rules dealing with IMDs are numbers; 74 to 80

IMBs were known as ‘Boards of Visitors’ and are still referred to in the legislation under their old titles, although this is likely to change in the near future.

The Independent Monitoring Board for each establishment is made up of independent and unpaid volunteers from the local area. They monitor the day-to-day life in the establishment and ensure that proper standards of care and decency are maintained. Members have unrestricted access to all areas of the prison at all times and can talk to any prisoner they wish, out of sight and hearing of a members of staff. They visit all areas such as; kitchens, workshops, accommodation blocks, recreation areas, healthcare centre and chaplaincy.

If a prisoner or detainee has an issue that they have been unable to resolve through the usual internal channels, they can place a confidential request to see a member of the IMB. Problems might include concerns over lost property, visits from family or friends, special religious or cultural requirements, or even serious allegations such as bullying. In addition, if something serious happens at the prison, for example a riot or a death in custody, IMB members may be called in to attend and observe the way in which it is handled.

IMB members sample food, can attend adjudications and should visit people held in the segregation unit. They must also be kept informed on such issues as the use of restraints.

The IMB meets regularly, usually once per month, and has an elected Chair and Vice Chair. Members work together as a team to raise any matters of concern and to keep an independent eye on the prison.

Click Here for IMB Website
Click Here for the latest published Annual IMB Report for this prison
 

Information in this section has been provided, primarily, by the prison. This information is supplemented with information from the various prison service websites; Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons; information and quotes from recent IMB/Visiting Committee reports; and specialist departments within the Prison Service, government, and regional assemblies/parliaments. Performance and population data is provided by the Ministry of Justice.

Some of the data is published retrospectively: IMBs/Visiting Committees publish their reports up to 6 months after the end of the reporting period and at different times throughout the year, HMCIP publish their reports up to 6 months after the inspection. Population and performance figures can be up to three months out of date.

The information on our website is regularly checked but if you have additional information, or if you believe that any of our information is incorrect, please click on ‘Contact’, below.

Updated: September 2010