Ministers have taken over a private prison in England after a series of suspected suicides, the “ready availability” of illegal drugs, high levels of self-harm and “significant staffing issues”.
The prisons minister has sacked the governor of HMP Lowdham Grange, a category B men’s prison near Nottingham that was taken over by Sodexo in February this year.
The new governor will be joined by experienced prison staff to bolster staffing levels “and additional managers to strengthen leadership at the prison”, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said.
The MoJ has also launched an “immediate review of conditions and compliance at the prison so remedial action can be taken to improve stability, security and safety”.
The decision comes after an unannounced inspection this summer found the prison was unsafe and failing to rehabilitate offenders.
The mother of one prisoner welcomed the takeover. She said the prison was unsafe and that she was worried her son would be the next to die in Lowdham Grange after five deaths – suspected suicides or drug deaths – since Sodexo came in.
Three suspected self-inflicted deaths occurred in March, soon after the regime change, inspectors reported, noting “an indifferent approach to oversight and intervention” when it came to self-harm.
Drugs are rife in the prison, with prisoners receiving letters recently warning them that a “brown substance that can stop hearts” was in circulation in the jail, the Guardian understands.
The mother claimed that emergency calls from cells were not being answered within five minutes, with ringing sometimes ignored for an hour – “enough time to lose a life”.
Sodexo did not deny this, nor claims that security during visits was “extremely lax”.
The understaffed healthcare unit is also struggling. “Mental health professionals are taking over four weeks to see vulnerable prisoners, if at all,” the mother claimed. “I’m so worried that my son might be the next one to die.”
Inspectors reported that “longstanding staff shortages in healthcare resulted in lengthy waits for services and some poor outcomes for patients”.
Staff shortages mean that on most weekends in recent months prisoners have been locked in their cells for up to 48 hours. There has been next to no “regime” for much of the time, with no opportunities to go to the gym, study or work, and family visits have been cancelled at the 11th hour, despite visitors sometimes travelling four hours to get there.
In random drug tests, 27% of prisoners tested positive for illicit substances, inspectors found, with an increase in the number of prisoners requiring hospital treatment for drug overdoses.
The MoJ said it had taken over the jail on Monday and would run it “for an initial interim period which may be extended”.
The prisons minister, Edward Argar, said: “Given the very specific issues at HMP Lowdham Grange, it is right that we have swiftly taken the action necessary to deliver the required improvements, and by stepping in we are able to provide the additional support needed.
“The majority of our privately run prisons, including others run by Sodexo, perform well, but where circumstances make it necessary, just as with all prisons, we will always take the decisive steps necessary to ensure they meet the standards we expect. The Prison Service will work closely with Sodexo to ensure minimal disruption and to reassure staff of our mutual commitment to stabilising the prison and putting it on a sustainable footing.”
The publicly run Prison Service had already been supporting Lowdham Grange with additional staff and resources since 10 December because of “significant staffing issues and a severely impacted regime”, the MoJ said.
A Sodexo spokesperson said: “We are continuing to work closely with the Ministry of Justice and [the Prison Service] at this time, and our primary focus remains on ensuring minimal disruption and maintaining a safe and secure environment for everyone who lives and works at the prison.”
