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Written question asked by Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 29 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 2 June 2026. It was answered by Preet Kaur Gill (Labour) on Monday, 15 June 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Health Services: Prisoners

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of healthcare provision in the prison estate for prisoners with neuromuscular and other progressive degenerative conditions, including the timeliness of access to (a) specialist consultants, (b) physiotherapy, (c) mobility aids and (d) reasonable adjustments to cell and wing accommodation.

Answer

NHS England commissions prison health care services into every prison in England to the equivalence of the community, to include range, access and quality of service. Access to specialist consultants and referrals into specialised support is available in all prisons; this includes access to allied health professionals and speech and language services as well as physiotherapy.

HM Prison and Probation Service enables access to all healthcare appointments, internal and external to the prison. The responsibility for social care support which this patient cohort may require due to the progressive nature of neuromuscular conditions is the responsibility of local authorities. The responsibility for reasonable adjustments lies with HM Prison and Probation Service rather than NHS England, and the Ministry of Justice recognises that the age of the prison estate presents challenges. In addition to making reasonable adjustments in older prisons, new-build prisons include accessible cells, low mobility cells, and lift access in all buildings.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
4600
Session
2026-27
Grouped for answer
Yes
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Disability Health services Prisoners Neurological diseases
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk