Patient safety behind bars: avoidable harm in English prisons [Podcast]

Gorman, Louise, Mcfadzean, Joy, Hard, Jake and Wainwright, Verity 2026. Patient safety behind bars: avoidable harm in English prisons [Podcast]. . Voices for Safety [NIHR]. Available at: https://www.psrc-gm.nihr.ac.uk/2026/07/13/podcast-...

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Abstract

How safe is healthcare in prison and what happens when things go wrong? In this episode of Voices for Safety, our host Dr Louise Gorman speaks with researchers Dr Joy McFadzean, Dr Jake Hard, and Dr Verity Wainwright about a major NIHR-funded study examining avoidable healthcare-associated harm and patient safety in English prisons. Drawing on the review of more than 15,000 prisoner health records, the study found that UK prisoners are up to 67 times more likely to experience harm whilst receiving healthcare, which could have been avoided if sufficient practices, systems and standards were in place. Researchers from the Universities of Manchester, Nottingham, and Cardiff identified that 247 cases of avoidable harm affected 244 prisoners, estimating that across the prison population in England, around 3,000-3,700 cases of avoidable healthcare harm could occur each year. In this episode, the team discusses how delays in treatment, communication challenges, prison transfers, staffing pressures, and gaps between healthcare and security systems can affect patient safety. The conversation explores the complex healthcare needs of people in prison, the barriers they face in accessing care, and why prisoners may be significantly more likely to experience avoidable harm than people receiving healthcare in the community. The guests share real-world examples from the research, discuss the impact of these findings on health inequalities, and consider what changes are needed to improve safety and continuity of care both within prisons and during transitions between prison and community healthcare services. This episode shines a light on an often-overlooked area of healthcare and highlights why improving patient safety in prisons is an important public health priority.

Item Type:	Digital or visual media
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Medicine
Publisher:	Voices for Safety [NIHR]
Last Modified:	15 Jul 2026 10:37
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/188231

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