HMP Altcourse
Inspection report - Altcourse (PDF, 1.9 MB)
Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Altcourse by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (7–18 July 2025)
Altcourse healthy prison scores (Back to top)
What we found (Back to top)
The ingress and use of illicit drugs posed a major threat to safety and security. Although there had been six self-inflicted deaths since the last inspection the prison did not investigate all near-fatal incidents, and it had not done enough to address the causes of self-harm, despite the increasing rate. NHS England, the prison and strategic managers in Practice Plus Group were fully aware of serious, longstanding risks to patient safety, but had failed to address them. More positively, wings had communal dining facilities available during both lunch and dinner times, something we rarely see in reception prisons.
Points to note: While there were insufficient activity spaces in education, skills and work to purposefully occupy the prison population, there was an impressive range of family initiatives, such as one-to-one and family counselling. All new prisoners received a mental health assessment to identify anxiety or depression within 48 hours.
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