New ESRC IAA project: Sharing the lessons learned to improve prison healthcare in the UK

25 July 2022

What are the impacts of austerity on prison healthcare in England since 2010? With prisons reportedly still ‘in recovery’ from COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, and multiple pressures on the NHS and the public finances, how will the health of prisoners be protected and improved? How can advocates for better health care make their case?

Led by Dr Nasrul Ismail from the School for Policy Studies, this ESRC IAA impact project will share the findings and recommendations from an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) research project on the impact of ten years (and counting) of austerity on prison healthcare in England. This project runs between July 2022 and March 2023.

The objectives of this project are:

To share lessons learned about how austerity has impacted prison healthcare in England with UK politicians, policymakers, and non-governmental organisations to inform social policy discussions and policy formation; and
To develop advocacy toolkits that will enable UK non-governmental organisations to challenge the reduction in resources for prison healthcare and prevent prisons from reaching tipping points in the future, especially when it is likely that the UK will experience a recession.

PolicyBristol will share lessons from this project via the development and dissemination of policy briefs to the UK politicians, policymakers, and non-governmental organisations and organise two-way discussions and networking events on the findings with these stakeholders in early 2023.

The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies will be helping to promote the toolkits and engaging in dialogue at dissemination events.

Further information

If you or your network are interested in working with the project, or keen to learn more, please contact Nasrul Ismail (Nasrul.Ismail@bristol.ac.uk) and Emily Crick (Emily.Crick@bristol.ac.uk).