There are over 200,000 offenders on probation in the UK. People in this group are often deprived, vulnerable and have more health needs (e.g. mental health, drug and alcohol problems) compared to the general population.
Many offenders are not registered with a GP, and/or only access healthcare during crises. To reduce health inequalities, we first need to understand how healthcare is provided to offenders, and how its quality can be measured and improved.
This is important because providing better, evidence-based healthcare will improve offenders’ health, increase their chances of completing probation, and reduce their risk of re-offending, with potential cost savings to the NHS from less unnecessary use of urgent and emergency services.
University of Lincoln, College of Social Science Research
Dr Coral Sirdifield, University of Lincoln, School of Health and Social Care