Training to enable staff in the prison and criminal justice system better understand brain injury is being rolled out across the country, in what has been hailed as an “important milestone” in decade-long efforts to improve support.
All 63,000 prison and probation staff in England, alongside healthcare staff within prisons, can now access the Ask, Understand and Adapt brain injury awareness training.
The training, which comprises e-learning modules and a film, adds a new layer of support for people in the criminal justice system who are living with brain injury, many of whom often go under the radar through a lack of knowledge and recognition of symptoms.
Research highlighted the scale of the issue within the system when it was found that nearly two thirds of women – 64 per cent – and more than two thirds of men – 47 per cent – in HMP Leeds/YOI Drake Hall had reported a brain injury.
But now, after more than ten years of efforts to increase support and provision, the Ask, Understand and Adapt programme – created through a partnership between The Disabilities Trust, UKABIF, HMPPS, NHS England and NHS Improvement – is accessible to staff throughout the system in England.
The training has been designed to help staff ask about a possible brain injury, understand the possible consequences and causes of these injuries and adapt the way in which they work using practice tips and advice.
The accompanying film, Invisible Me, shares the story of Jade, who had a life-changing stroke in prison, one of the thousands of people who have experienced prison life and return to the community with a brain injury.
Jocelyn Gaynor, head of Foundation at The Disabilities Trust, said it marked a significant step forward in supporting those working in the criminal justice system to understand brain injury.
“By encouraging staff to consider their engagements and interactions, and by seeing what small adaptations they can make to their practice, this could have very positive outcomes. This training gives them the tools to do this,” she says.
“Everyone in the prison and probation system needs to be aware of ABI, it’s not just within healthcare, this impacts on engagement and behaviour on the wings, in education and probation and in the courts, so it’s very important to work right across all of these groups.
“Through this improved understanding and changes to practice, we will potentially see some very positive changes – less time for people in segregation, more positive relationships within the prison environment, more successful engagement in their rehabilitation, which will ultimately help reduce reoffending.”
While the training is not currently mandatory, response to its introduction has been positive and Governors have been receptive, says Jocelyn, but the potential to make it compulsory for every member of staff is something that will be reviewed going forward.
“The fact this has been made available to everyone working across prison and probation, including in healthcare, is an important milestone, and now we will be looking to do all we can to make sure people access it,” she says.
