The Metropolitan Police are struggling to provide adequate medical staffing to assess and treat detainees in their custody suites, a new report from the London Assembly says.
The Police and Crime Committee report Falling short: The Met’s healthcare of detainees in custody [1], calls for swift action to tackle the more than 60 per cent shortfall in nurses providing medical assessments and care for people held in police custody [2]. In the current financial year more nurses have left the service than have been recruited [3].
While the Committee welcomes plans to transfer commissioning of custody healthcare to the NHS by 2015, the report makes a series of recommendations to address shortcomings in custody care in the short term including:
- A new strategy for increasing the number of custody nurses and an independent review of the nature, content and appropriateness of their training
- Establish a clear timetable for the transition of commissioning for custody healthcare to the NHS by 2015
- The Met and MOPAC should provide a plan showing how the new Detention Command will be developed, consulted on, implemented and overseen.
- MOPAC should demonstrate a clear process for making best use of information provided by Independent Custody Volunteers, including publishing a quarterly report of problems identified during visits and action taken as a result.
- The Met should establish a formal consultative group to respond to the immediate concerns raised by Forensic Medical Examiners, and consult with them about current nurse training practices and any future changes to custody arrangements.
Chair of the Police and Crime Committee Joanne McCartney AM said:
“When the Met take a person into custody they become responsible for their health and well-being, any failure in that duty can have catastrophic consequences for detainees and stain the Met’s reputation.
“That is why providing proper healthcare and assessment of people held in police cells is too important an issue to wait for the welcome changes to NHS commissioning of services planned for 2015.
“If a hospital had a 60 percent shortfall in nursing levels there would rightly be a public outcry, the Met must act now to address this understaffing and the Mayor’s Office must take a strategic lead to ensure new arrangements do not repeat the mistakes of the past..”
Notes to editors:
- Embargoed copy of report attached.
- As of November 2013 the Met had 78 nurses working in custody suites against a planned total of 198
- As of November 2013 23 nurses left the service while 15 were recruited.
- Joanne McCartney AM, Chair of the Police and Crime Committee, is available for interview. See contact details below.
- The Police and Crime Committee is responsible for examining the activities of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and investigating matters it considers to be of importance to policing and crime reduction in London.
- The Police and Crime Committee is established under s32 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.