£3.7m is annual bill for convicts in hospital

Apr 26 2009 by Rob Pattinson, Sunday Sun

CONVICTS are draining the public purse of more than £3.7m a year to pay for security to escort them to hospital for treatment.

A Sunday Sun probe has found more than £11m has been spent guarding crooks taken from North prisons for medical treatment in the last four years . . . and the number is growing.

A watchdog has expressed concern at the high numbers of inmates requiring hospital treatment. Last year 60 per cent of the total capacity of the 13 prisons in our region, ranging from HMP Northallerton YOI , in North Yorkshire, to HMP Acklington, in Northumberland, required hospital treatment.

A staggering 96pc of the capacity of HMP Durham were escorted off site for treatment; 68pc from HMP Frankland, also in Durham, and 115pc from female jail HMP YOI Low Newton.

In all 4963 criminals were taken to hospital for treatment last year – more than one a week from each jail.

High-profile inmates, who have received treatment under armed guard at North hospitals within the last two years, include al Qaeda plotter Dhiren Barot, and armed robber Malcolm Cruddas. Both required hospital care after suffering scalding burns at Frankland.

Murderer Lee Nevins escaped from Sunderland Royal Hospital last year while he was being treated for a hand injury. The 24-year-old sparked a six-day manhunt after he walked out of the front door still wearing his handcuffs.

Following the release of the figures the Home Office has looked to reassure families in the region there is nothing to fear from the crooks being brought from prisons for treatment, and the number of violent Category A inmates being admitted to hospitals is "very, very low".

But the TaxPayers’ Alliance, while sympathetic for the need of prisoners to be treated, has condemned the levels of visits as a serious concern.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the public cash watchdog, said: "These prisoners are costing taxpayers a fortune.

"Obviously if they become ill they need to receive medical care, but it’s concerning that they are so much more likely to do so than other people.

"Given the huge cost of guarding them when in hospital, the authorities must make sure both that prisoners are looked after, and that none of them are taking the mick."

The amount being spent escorting prisoners has been calculated using figures released from the Ministry of Justice under the Freedom of Information Act. It shows the number of admissions year-on-year since 2006 has grown by more than a third.

At least two guards must be with inmates at all times during treatment. It costs £17 an hour for a prison officer to be on escort duty.

Based on the average admission time to NHS hospitals of 24 hours, more than £3.6m was spent last year, £3.2m the year before, and £3m the year before that.

The final bill for the Prison Service is expected to be much greater when transport, replacement guards for prisons, and armed police-support are added to the total, though the Ministry of Justice has stated guard costs are covered by regular duties.

A spokesperson said: "Protecting the public is our top priority and a thorough risk assessment is completed before any prisoner is taken to outside hospital. Prisoners are escorted by prison officers, using restraints when necessary. This work is part of officers’ standard duties.

"Of those escorted to outside hospital every year, very few are Category A prisoners. We have a common law duty of care to those in prison."