Prisons: Drugs

(asked on 5th February 2019) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2019 to Question 210641 on Prisons: Drugs, how many ambulances attended each prison as a result of (a) staff injuries and (b) staff injuries due to exposure to psychoactive substance in each year since 2010.


Answered by
 Portrait
Rory Stewart
This question was answered on 13th February 2019

Protecting the health and safety of our staff and prisoners is of the utmost importance. We take all reported incidents seriously and work hard to mitigate any risks that staff or prisoners face. We record ambulance attendance at prisons but our analysis does not identify the number of attendances relating specifically to staff injuries. However, we examine all of the information that we receive on reported incidents to ensure that we learn lessons and provide all staff with appropriate guidance. We are working closely with Public Health England to understand the issues around secondary exposure to psychoactive substances and ensure that we respond appropriately.

We have revised our internal guidance on controlling the risks of secondary exposure and this will be published shortly. It includes information on how to assess and control risk on entry into cells where psychoactive substances have been used, with more detail on specific airborne risks and control methods, and clearer guidance on responding to and investigating exposure.

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