Trust wins new contract for Stoke Heath Prison

Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust (Shropcom) has won the five-year contract which was commissioned by NHS England.

It begins in April 2019 and includes a potential two-year extension that would take it to 2026.

It sees Shropcom teaming up with North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust (NSCHT) and The Forward Trust to form what is being called the Stoke Heath Integrated Care partnership.

All three organisations already deliver health services at the prison, near Market Drayton, but the new contract involves the introduction of a new model of care that will be shaped over the next six months in the run-up to the launch on April 1.

Shropcom will develop the primary care aspects of the contract, while NSCHT will deliver secondary mental health and clinical substance misuse services.

The Forward Trust will provide psychosocial intervention and recovery planning for substance misuse.

Steve Gregory, director of nursing and operations at Shropcom, said: “Our new model has been jointly developed, bringing together clinical expertise and local knowledge to ensure we will meet the specific needs of service users.

“The new service is a fully integrated service, bringing together all aspects of health care in the prison facility.

“This marks the first step and provides a framework for the three partners to work together in the future to develop and improve services.

“It’s a great outcome for the population in Stoke Heath, and an exciting opportunity for staff to work together providing holistic care that is centred around patient need.”

The new contract will largely be delivered by existing staff from the new partnership.

They will bring the skills and local understanding of Stoke Heath prison to the service development.

There are 27 existing members of Shropcom staff based at Stoke Heath, with 10 colleagues from NSCHT and 14 from The Forward Trust.

That number is expected to grow as the new model is shaped over the coming weeks.

“We would like to thank all those involved in developing and securing this new contract,” added Steve.

Andrew Hughes, executive director of strategy, development and estates at NSCHT, said: “We are delighted to be working with our partners Shropcom and The Forward Trust to deliver this important contract within Stoke Heath prison.

“As a trust we have been proud of our successful delivery of substance misuse services and we are excited to extend our service offer to include mental health services within the prison. "We know how important it is to respond positively to mental health conditions whatever the environment and setting.”

Jason Moore, divisional director of substance misuse services at the The Forward Trust, said: “I am delighted that all our endeavours and those of our partners in the years and months preceding have led to the continuation of our services at HMP Stoke Heath following our successful bid.

“I look forward seeing the innovations and fresh ways of working as we mobilise and deliver the new holistic Stoke Heath integrated care model.”