Key Summary
- Health experts will operate from probation offices for the first time and attend appointments with offenders
- Offenders will be screened for issues that fuel criminality
- Scheme being piloted in four areas plagued by high levels of reoffending
NHS clinicians and nurses will work with probation staff to support offenders in tackling their health and addiction issues and turn their backs on crime.
Under the novel scheme, being piloted in four areas plagued by high levels of reoffending, NHS staff will work from probation offices and attend appointments between offenders and probation staff.
NHS professionals will screen offenders for mental health and drug or alcohol misuse and refer them to services aimed at directly tackling addictions that can fuel their criminality.
Offenders with mental and chronic health issues or neurodivergent conditions will be referred to local GP practices for support.
The initiative will also aim to reduce the amount of missed GP appointments and hospital readmissions, which cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds every year.
Evidence shows offenders on probation are far more likely than the general public to experience mental health and addiction issues, which are proven to increase the likelihood of reoffending.
Studies have also shown that getting offenders to confront their health issues through specialist support helps drive down their chance of committing further crimes.
Prisons minister Lord Timpson said, "Too many offenders are stuck in a cycle of crime driven by untreated mental health problems or addiction.
"This new approach brings our NHS into the heart of the justice system so we can better diagnose and solve the problem while cutting reoffending."
Nearly half of the adult prison population could be considered neurodivergent, covering a range of conditions and disorders such as learning disabilities and acquired brain injuries.
A report by the Chief Medical Officer found offenders in the community are far more likely to experience general poor health, unemployment and homelessness, all of which fuel reoffending.
It also found that despite facing serious health problems, they face many barriers while accessing care.
This includes trouble registering with GPs due to a lack of an address or photo identification.
As part of the scheme, offenders will be supported by dedicated “health navigators” with lived experience of the criminal justice system to help remove barriers and establish better links to local healthcare services.
The pilot forms part of the Government’s flagship 10 Year Health Plan to help transform community healthcare.
Mental health minister Baroness Gillian Merron said, "Too many people caught in the cycle of reoffending also struggle with poor health. Untreated mental health conditions, addiction and chronic illness make it far harder to turn your life around.
"These Health Hubs are about breaking this cycle - preventing reoffending and demands on the NHS, because prevention is better than cure."
Dr Dianne Addei, Director of Healthcare Inequalities Improvement, NHS England said, "For the first time, healthcare staff will be working directly with thousands of offenders in probation offices that they regularly attend to ensure they have access to support for a range of issues, including registering with GP practices, screening, mental health, and addiction services."
The partnership between the Probation Service and the NHS is a key part of the Government’s Plan for Change to tackle health barriers, reduce reoffending and cut crime.
It follows the recent expansion of the Intensive Supervision Court scheme, which uses a new community sentencing approach to tackling the root causes of offenders’ behaviour.
These pioneering courts see offenders found guilty of committing crimes such as theft while facing issues like addiction or trauma attend necessary treatments and regularly appear before the same judge who can track their behaviour.
