Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what specific medical provision has been put in place for prisoners who are over 60 years of age.

NHS England is responsible for commissioning all healthcare services for prisoners (including drug and alcohol services) in England. Services are commissioned for individual prisons by NHS England’s local commissioners, based on a local health needs assessment which informs the provision required.

In the case of the primary and secondary healthcare commissioned services, there are national specifications to which patient specific services can be added. For those prisons which have predominantly elderly patient cohorts, these additions will ensure that age related conditions are specifically assessed and provided for.

NHS England commissions specific dementia care service, end of life and palliative care provision, supports the prisons’ approach to the local authorities’ assessment and management of social care, and ensures that elderly patients are supported in accessing healthcare services.