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Probation Healthcare Commissioning Toolkit

Improving the health of people in the criminal justice system

Probation Healthcare Commissioning Toolkit: A resource for commissioners and practitioners in health and criminal justice.

Many people in contact with probation will experience more than one health problem at any given time and often experience other negative social determinants of health such as unemployment and homelessness. Very little research has been done on this population and their voice is seldom heard by those commissioning healthcare or those providing oversight and scrutiny of healthcare services.

For more information please see below, or visit the Toolkit Website

What are we doing?

Many people in contact with probation will experience more than one health problem at any given time and often experience other negative social determinants of health such as unemployment and homelessness. Very little research has been done on this population and their voice is seldom heard by those commissioning healthcare or those providing oversight and scrutiny of healthcare services.

 

Why is it important?

Despite the high level and complexity of health needs in this group, people in contact with probation face both system-level and personal-level barriers to accessing healthcare. Many people in contact with probation are not registered with a GP, and/or only access healthcare during crises (Revolving Doors Agency 2013). Sometimes services simply do not exist to meet their needs, and sometimes services are difficult to access due to things like their location, opening hours, restrictive referral criteria and poorly understood access routes. Moreover, the health needs of people in contact with probation and how best to structure service provision to make healthcare accessible to and appropriate for this group are not always considered by healthcare commissioners.

 

How are we different?

We hope that this toolkit will assist those working in health and criminal justice environments in England, and in particular commissioners to improve the way in which healthcare is provided for people in contact with probation.

Academic Staff

 

Dr Coral Sirdifield

Research Fellow, University of Lincoln

Dr Rebecca Marples

Research Assistant, University of Lincoln

Prof Charlie Brooker

Honorary Professor for Health and Justice, Royal Holloway, University of London

Prof David Denney

Professor of Social and Public Policy, Royal Holloway, University of London

Prof Niro Siriwardena

Professor of Primary & Pre-Hospital Health Care

Mr Dean Maxwell-Harrison

Service User Consultant

Mr Sophie Strachan Service User Consultant
Mr Tony Connell Probation Representative
   

Download Toolkit and Summary