In the early 1960s the Prison Service took over the site of what was to become Haslar Immigration Detention (and then Removal) Centre. Early roles for HMP Haslar included the infamous “Short Sharp Shock” for young offenders in the 1980s. In the summer of 1990, it became an Immigration Detention Centre, with a small number of Cat C prisoners.
Some of the buildings date back to the early days of Haslar Naval Hospital. The prison laundry was the Officers Mess for the unit that provided guards to Haslar Naval Hospital, and it is a listed building.
From its opening, the Practice provided GP cover to HMP Haslar, with Gordon Spink being the Part-Time Prison Medical Officer (PTMO). In January 1991, I took over this lead role on Gordon’s retirement, and continued as PTMO for nearly a quarter of a century until Haslar Immigration Removal Centre closed in April 2015
The Prison Medical Service was, until the NHS took over prison healthcare in 2006, the oldest medical service in the world. Biannual conferences were a highlight for me, meeting colleagues from high security prisons, all with stories of notorious inmates that could make ones hair curl.
The isolation of the Prison Medical Service from mainstream medicine became highlighted in the 1990s, and a variety of initiatives were put in place to address this, before it was finally decided to bring prison medicine within the NHS in 2006. One of those initiatives was the Diploma in Prison Medicine. Initially, this was only available to full-time prison MOs but, eventually, places became available for part timers. In 2002 I managed to get a place on what turned out to be the last diploma course. A two-year programme, with only seven of us meeting in Nottingham University Medical School a few times a year, it was an absolutely joyous learning experience. However, one topic stood out above all the others: Prison Law. It excited and enthralled some of so much that two of us went on to do a Masters Degree in Medical Law. My two-year part-time Masters degree course at Cardiff University, completed in 2008 whilst working seven sessions a week, was the hardest academic work I have ever done. Writing essays and a dissertation in the small hours, reading cases and commentaries at weekends, and with me typically(!) chasing a distinction rather than accepting a pass, it is no wonder that Sylvia, my wife, said at the end that she’d divorce me if I ever did something similar again! Although it was hard work, I enjoyed the course greatly and, even if it did not lead to any formal career change, it developed my critical abilities, and gave me a wealth of medico-legal knowledge that has supported me and colleagues through the succeeding years.
The other Prison Diploma student who did a Masters in Medical Law degree was a GP, Prison MO, Police Surgeon and an Approved doctor under section 12 of the Mental Health Act. At his prompting, I too took up Police Surgeon work for a few years, and also became a ‘section 12 Doctor.’ This enabled me to undertake Mental Health Act Assessments and, when the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) procedure came in place, I was able to undertake these assessments also. The DOLS work dramatically increased as a result of a 2014 landmark judgment in the Supreme Court, known as the ‘Cheshire West case, which led to a widening of the scope – and thereby number – of people requiring assessment under the DOLS process. Monies earned from these assessments, saved to fund an earlier than otherwise retirement, will be used to fund my IBTC course.
As a result of my experience of prison medicine, I became a Clinical Assessor for the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (directly, and then through the NHS) for Deaths in Custody. The case that particularly stands out in my mind was the first PPO-led Death in Custody investigation in Guernsey, as a result of which I was called as an Expert Witness for the subsequent inquest.
My work in Haslar also led to my doing consultancy work for the Immigration Service, assessing tender applications for the privately-run Immigration Removal Centres, and undertaking audits of healthcare in these establishments.
So, my arguing in October 1990 – before I had even fully joined the Partnership – that the Practice could ill afford to lose the income from the PTMO post at Haslar Detention Centre, led to a succession of opportunities to expand my education and career. Definitely one of my better decisions!