Prison report reveals high rate of staff assaults

At the time of the inspection 360 women were being held at HMP Eastwood Park

An unannounced inspection of a women's prison has found it had the highest rate of assaults against staff of any similar prison in the country.

Representatives from His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) visited HMP Eastwood Park in South Gloucestershire for two weeks in June and July, for the first time since 2022.

HMIP also noted rates of self-harm among the prisoners were "extremely high" and there were not enough activity spaces to keep women occupied, but it also noted several positives it believed other prisons could learn from.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, which manages prisons, told the BBC self-harm and violence inside prisons is taken "extremely seriously".

The report outlined 11 concerns, five of which it said should be addressed as priorities.

As well as the rate of self-harm it also noted too many "very mentally unwell women" had been sent to the prison because of a lack of services to support them in the community.

It said too many women were unnecessarily locked in their cells, little was done to promote positive behaviour and support was "limited" for older women and prisoners with disabilities.

"The rate of assaults against staff were the highest of all women's prisons and often occurred during restraints when staff used force to prevent self-harm," the report explained.

"However, there were now much better standards of care than we found at our 2022 inspection or at our recent thematic visit."

Back in March urgent concerns were raised about the level of self-harm in the prison.

Among the positives highlighted was a peer-led group to support women in prison for the first time and visits by magistrates so they could see the impact of short, custodial sentences.

Asked to comment by the BBC a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "Self-harm and violence against staff are taken extremely seriously, which is why we are investing in specialist training, recruiting more psychologists, and strengthening support for women at risk at HMP Eastwood Park.

"The prison system this government inherited is not working for most women. That's why we established the Women's Justice Board to advise on reducing the number of female prisoners."