Ms Emer Campbell:

We have an initial committal assessment when someone presents to the care of the Prison Service. That is done by our nursing colleagues and also by the GP who presents at the next clinic. While that is thorough, it is an ongoing assessment and people are often quite stressed and chaotic when they come in initially from the court.

Afterwards, they settle into a landing and perhaps move to a different unit. There is ongoing assessment by prison staff on the landings. The Deputy asked how things are flagged to us in terms of someone being in distress and not being able to cope. It is often an officer on a landing who might pick up something. If there is an established history, we will get that at the point of committal. We might get a past medical history from a GP, psychiatrist or psychologist in the community.

Problems often do not arise until the prisoner settles in. It might manifest as not being able to settle in, cope or manage the daily routine, and that is when something would be flagged. We would then implement a plan, and approach the work and training people and accommodation in terms of deciding who needs a single cell. It is an evolving process. While there is an initial very thorough assessment, the process is ongoing. People often present with different challenges as they move along and into different environments within the prison. Somebody might need to be in an area where there are more vulnerable prisoners, while others might manage well in the general community. It evolves over time. We work as a multidisciplinary team with operational staff on the floor, psychology, psychiatry, GPs and all of the special services a person might need to deal with whatever vulnerability is identified as he or she goes along.