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 members of staff at each prison were admitted to hospital as a result of 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. Our staff work hard to ensure that our prisons are safe and we are concerned by reports of the effects of secondary exposure to psychoactive substances. We do not have data on the number of staff admitted to hospital as a result of secondary exposure to a psychoactive substance but 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.

Reticulating Splines