Providing healthcare in prisons and other secured settings
In June 2025, NHFT provided healthcare across s ix prisons and secured sites , mainly in the East of England, as well as Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre.
Over the last year, NHFT has taken on seven new secured sites across the Midlands including: HMP Lincoln, HMP Lowdham Grange, HMP Morton Hall, HMP North Sea Camp, HMP Nottingham, HMP Ranby and Swinderby short-term holding facility , increasing NHFT's s ecured portfolio by 116%.
Meeting the healthcare needs of those in prison
NHFT provides a wide range of healthcare support across all its secured service sites, including primary care (the services that a GP would provide), podiatry and dentistry. Some sites have additional elements specific to their population need, for example, HMP Peterborough has a female population , so mother and baby healthcare is provided on site . Drug misuse programmes are common across secured sites , aimed at supporting those with a history of substance misuse, and specialist palliative care is provided to patients with long term illnesses or to those who are likely to die whilst in prison.
Mental health nurses, psychiatrists and therapists play an incredibly valuable role in mental health provision across our secured sites, helping to support patients using a model of Trauma Informed Care (TIC), which promotes recovery and aims to avoid re traumatisation .
Rachel Palethorpe (Assistant Director of Specialist and Secured Services at NHFT) has 16 years of experience working in secured services, from London to the Northeast and now in the Midlands.
Delivering healthcare in custodial settings has its own unique challenges, Rachel explain s :
"There is a lot of unmet need in terms of physical and mental health challenges that those patients are experiencing . A lot of people in prison have significant history of trauma, mental health challenges and societal challenges, quite often, there's been a lot of systems that have let those people down."
N ot all patients respond to or engage with a more traditional healthcare offer ing , so c reative solutions are need ed to support those individuals . T his is where the expertise of external partners adds value to our healthcare provision. Anthony Blades, Director of Secured Services at NHFT first reached out to Luke Ambler of 'Ambler's Training Group' on Linked In , exploring opportunities to work together to support men in custodial settings with their mental health. Whilst Rachel had already worked with Sam McPherson from ' Maverick Sounds ' . She had experienced firsthand the positive impact he and his team had on patients in secured settings.
Introducing NHFT's secret weapon
Rachel explains:
"Luke Ambler of Ambler Training Group and Sam McPherson of Maverick Sounds are NHFT's secret weapon, and we are able to reach more patients than we can without them."
Sam engages with patients, encouraging them to communicate and express themselves through music. He and his team enable patients to talk about thoughts and feelings and encourage them to write positive healthy lyrics and music, that he records for them on a CD. Providing patients with a creative channel to explore feelings offers an alternative way of expression .
Luke and his team work on breaking down barriers and connecting with people , they are strong, positive male role models who share their own experiences, and demonstrate vulnera bility , which gives permission for the ir patients, to do the same. The y encourage patients to become their own 'emotional detectives' to learn to understand their feelings and express th em in a healthy way.
Rachel adds;
"It's been really wonderful to see some of our patients who have not previously wanted to engage with healthcare services, to be able to share their feelings and the challenges they are facing, to connect with peers and have healthy conversations. "
Making a difference, together
Partnerships and collaboration are key to making a difference, together , supporting patients and delivering outstanding care. Inspectors visiting HMP Lowdham on a recent inspection, noted excellent practice across all areas of the prison and highlighted the work of Maverick Sounds and the impact they have.
Rachel summarises :
" When we take care of people, and we help them to become healthy, well-adjusted people, those people make better members of society, better peers and neighbours . The majority of people in custody will be released at some point and our role is to look after those people and help them to become the best version of themselves. Find out more about healthcare in secured services and the importance of collaboration in achieving outcomes for patients by watching the videos below.
Introduction to Healthcare in Secured Services
Secured service partnerships and collaboration