Derwentside IRC – excellent health care and welfare let down by poor safety procedures
Inspectors visiting Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) found an establishment providing good care and support to the women detained there, particularly in health care, yet with urgent improvements needed areas of safety.
For example, despite the centre holding a number of extremely vulnerable women, the safeguarding policy did not focus on the particular needs of women. There were also flaws in the process for monitoring those at risk of self-harm or suicide, and documentation was inadequate. Constant supervision in the cases of highest risk was also not well organised or documented. In one case, inspectors saw a male member of staff, with two female staff members, carrying out constant supervision of a woman whose triggers for self-harm included the presence of men. Oversight of the use of force was not adequate, including the recording of data.
Overall the picture at Derwentside was very positive with some really impressive work being done. But this was undermined by gaps in crucial processes relating to safety that just aren’t good enough given the vulnerable women detained there. There is also a real risk that, as the number of women held there rises, the fragilities that our inspection identified could lead to real harm. The centre’s leadership, the central Mitie team and the Home Office must act on this.
Health care in the centre was excellent, including exceptional effort to use translation, identify vulnerabilities and consider cultural sensitivities.
The Home Office engagement team was operating far more effectively than our inspectors have seen in other IRCs. Staff were out and about, engaging with women, who were better informed about the progress of their cases than those than we have seen elsewhere.
The welfare team also provided a good service which was appreciated by the women, many of whom were distressed by the length of time they were spending in custody, the separation from their families and the uncertainty about their cases. The welfare team worked closely with the charity, Hibiscus, which was able to support women both in detention and after release including ‘start-up’ funds for women who were setting up their own business.
Notes to editors
- Read the Derwentside IRC report, published on 6 December 2022.
- HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment and promote positive outcomes for those detained and the public.
- Derwentside IRC opened in November 2021. It is located in a remote part of County Durham on the site of the former Hassockfield secure training centre.
- At the time of this inspection, the centre held 25 detainees.
- This inspection took place between 8 and 25 August 2022.
- We define notable positive practice as innovative work or practice that leads to particularly good outcomes from which other establishments may be able to learn. Inspectors found seven examples of notable positive practice in this inspection.
- Please email media@hmiprisons.gov.uk if you would like more information.