A prison health care contract has been awarded to a social enterprise for the first time, it was announced yesterday.
Secure Healthcare has taken over responsibility for all health services at the UK’s largest prison, HMP Wandsworth in South London.
The social enterprise plans to give prisoners a formally recognised voice in the organisation by making them "members" and giving them votes in a co-operative democratic structure.
It claims that involving prisoners and acting on their views will have a positive effect on their behaviour and help to lower reoffending rates.
As a social enterprise, Secure Healthcare is owned by the staff and service users and will re-invest its profits into the service that it provides.