HMP Wandsworth slowly improves after cash boost

Wandsworth Prison has made slow improvements following years of terrible conditions inside the Victorian prison in south-west London.

A new healthcare unit has opened and a "moderate decrease" in violence were among the improvements noted in a recent report.

But staffing issues and poor living conditions were cited as persistent problems.

The prison, built in 1851, had a "catastrophic" inspection last year, after which it was issued an urgent notification - and following that a £100m funding boost.

The new report from the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), said there was "much less of the day-to-day chaos and confusion" that had contributed to violence at the full inspection.

It also said there had been "some improvement" in staff experience, with more support and investment in training.

Levels of staff absence remained "unacceptably" high, with an average of one third of staff unavailable every day.

Staff recruitment, managed centrally, had delivered inadequately trained staff, many "unsuited to working in a prison".

However, the safety team had been strengthened and there was better joint working across all aspects of behaviour management, including security.

"New leaders brought in since the urgent notification were playing a large part in the change of management culture," the board found.

Wandsworth Prison central rotunda

The crumbling infrastructure of the 170-year-old building meant living conditions remained "inhumane and unacceptable", with the majority of prisoners sharing cramped cells originally built for one.

Many of the showers were mouldy and unhygienic and frequent boiler breakdowns during the winter meant that cells were often too cold.

Frequent and disruptive lockdowns continued to be a problem, with prisoners often spending 22 hours a day locked in their cells. Unemployed prisoners, who comprised around 40% of the population, could still spend only two hours out of their cell a day.

A single cell in E wing, photographed in 2017

Among the improvements, random drug tests were now consistently carried out at the required rate, with suspicion-based testing increasing.

However they were unable to conduct roll checks to account for all inmates because staff could not provide accurate numbers.

The long-delayed new healthcare centre, the Nightingale unit, finally opened three years late, in May 2025. Most clinics were now taking place there, although dental clinics remained in the old healthcare centre, as the dental chair did not fit in the allocated room.

The new unit also did not have any accommodation.

IMB chair, Matthew Andrews said the improvement in the prison's performance was welcomed, and was been reflected in the largely positive review of progress conducted in April.

Mr Andrews did, however, warn that until the serious staffing issues were properly addressed the prison's efforts to improve further would be severely hampered.