Who is the Integrated Mental Health Team?
The Integrated Mental Health Team (IMHT) is a multidisciplinary team. This means that we have staff with different job roles. We can offer different support depending on your needs.
Our working hours may vary depending on the prison you’re in. We will generally work Monday-Friday, though in some prisons we may also be available outside of this. Please do ask us.
How to get mental health support?
To get support from the mental health team you can either:
- Refer yourself using the healthcare application system (app) on the wing. This is the best and quickest way. If you require support to complete the app, you can ask any staff member and they will support you with this.
- If you don’t feel able to refer yourself, ask a member of staff to refer you to us.
- If other people have concerns about your mental wellbeing, they can also refer you. Other people who might refer you include probation, solicitors, the police and your family members. We ask others to make sure you have given your consent for the referral.
There is also great support available from the following:
- Listeners
- Samaritans Phone
- Chaplaincy
- Prisoner Information Desk (PID) Workers
- Peer Mentors
- Drug and Alcohol issues support services
- Self-help material – See PID Worker or Mental Health Peer Support Worker
- GPs and Nurse prescribers
- Landing officer
- Key worker
How long do I have to wait for IMHT support?
We will get back to you within 4 working days from receiving your referral. Waiting lists and times can vary depending on the prison you are in and service you need. There may be a wait for some services. We will let you know when you can expect your assessment, who your allocated worker is, and we can give you an estimate of how long this might take.
What will happen when a referral is made?
When we receive your referral, we will look at your medical notes to find the most appropriate support for you. If we need more information to help with this, we will get in touch with you. If we need to see you for an assessment, we will see you in four working days. We discuss the assessment with the rest of the team to find the best support for you. If after the assessment, we think support from the IMHT is not suitable we will give you information on other services based on your needs. If you are discharged from the team, we will let you know.
If you are offered support from us:
- You will have an allocated IMHT worker (e.g., Named Nurse, therapist) who will see you to discuss your needs and your treatment options. We would call this a care plan.
- Your support will be tailored to your needs. We will work together to help you reach your goals.
- Treatment and support can vary depending on your needs – see below for examples of treatment and support we can provide.
- If you have an allocated Named Nurse, we will work with you to create a safety plan. This identifies what you, others and we can do if there is a risk to yourself or others. You will be offered a copy of your Safety Plan. You can also request this from your Named Nurse/Clinical Lead.
What does the IMHT in prison offer?
What we offer will vary slightly depending on each prison. Not everything in this list might be available in your prison. Please reach out to us to find out what services are available. Most support can be offered individually or as a group.
Primary Care Mental Health Team
The team includes:
Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) who can
- Provide 6-8 sessions of low intensity guided self-help based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) skills with you. Each session will be 30 minutes and will focus on self-care
Counsellors who can:
- Provide 6-8 sessions to work on your concerns and difficulties with you. Each session will last 50 minutes.
Social Workers who will:
- support with safeguarding issues, financial matters, to help you to keep in touch with your family and carers and to involve family where appropriate.
- support you to access advocacy services, liaise with community teams and link in with Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), The Ministry of Justice and the Victim Liaison Unit amongst other agencies.
Mental Health Care Navigators who will
- work with you from six months prior to release, for between 28 days and six months post release, depending on your need.
- provide intensive through-the-gate support with upcoming release including GP and dentist registration, bank accounts, benefits advice, accommodation issues and practical logistical issues.
Health and Wellbeing Coaches who will:
- help you with induction, support in running groups, provide peer mentor support, follow up on missed appointments and provide general mental health support.
Secondary Care Mental Health Team
The team includes:
Mental Health Nurses/Name Nurse/Clinical Leads who will:
- complete comprehensive mental health and risk assessments and help you manage complex mental health difficulties such as psychosis, personality disorders and schizophrenia.
- offer interventions on a one-to-one basis or in groups, monitor antipsychotic medication and administer depot injections when required.
- write detailed care and safety plans and coordinate transfers to and from secure psychiatric hospitals and the community when needed.
Student/Apprentice Nurses who:
- are training to work and provide support, advice and treatment to you and other people who have mental health needs.
- often attend appointments with the Clinical Leads and support with documentation.
Learning and Disability Nurses who will:
- work with you if you have a learning disability. They will support you with your physical and mental health. They will provide you with practical support to enable you to live as independently as possible.
Nurse Consultants who will:
- provide specialist nursing advice, diagnoses and medication reviews.
- complete mental health assessments and prescribe medication.
Consultant Psychiatrists who will:
- diagnose mental health disorders.
- prescribe medication and create treatment plans.
Applied Psychologists who will:
- help make sense of your story and what’s happened to you. We might call this a formulation.
- assess and treat wellbeing difficulties, such as relational difficulties, trauma, low mood, stress, hearing, seeing or feeling things others don’t and more.
- Each session will be 50-60min, we will see you individually or in a group setting.
Higher Assistant Psychologist who will:
- assess your current needs by asking you some questions to try and get to know you, your needs and how we can best support you.
- with supervision from the applied psychologist, treat wellbeing difficulties, such as relational difficulties, trauma, low mood, stress, hearing, seeing or feeling things others don’t and more.
- Each session will be 50-60min, we will see you individually or in a group setting.
Speech and Language Therapists (SLT) who will:
- complete a communication assessment and provide therapeutic interventions if you have any speech, language and/or communication needs.
- provide support and advice. We might encourage environmental changes to promote inclusive communication.
Occupational Therapists (OTs) who will:
- support you to be able to complete necessary and enjoyable activities of daily living.
- complete an assessment by observing how you are currently managing in all areas of ‘occupational performance’ and make recommendations. Following this, goals to work towards during treatment are identified between you and the OT which may include work around motivation, habits, and skills.
Healthcare Support Workers and Associate Practitioners who will:
- provide one-to-one support, group facilitation, mental health promotion, psychoeducational work, physical health clinics and follow up on missed appointments.
Important information:
We will talk you through the following information as soon as possible. Please have a read of this.
- Your rights regarding consent to treatment
You can refuse treatment. This is the case even if other people disagree with your decision. We will ask for your consent before we start any treatment/therapy. To make sure that you can make an informed choice, we will give you information about the treatment/therapy, the benefits, and the potential adverse effects. You will be provided this for any treatment including medication and therapy.
There are times when people might become very unwell and struggle to weigh up the information to make a specific choice. We would call this capacity. In these instances, we would make adaptations to help you understand, remember, weigh up the information and communicate this to others. If after this there are concerns about you being able to make an informed choice, we would consider the next section.
- Rights under the Mental Health Act/Mental Health Order/Capacity Act
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is the law that protects you if you can’t make decisions because you lack capacity. It applies to all people aged 16 years and over in England and Wales, including those in prison. It provides a legal framework for the care of people with mental health difficulties including in prison.
If you are unable to understand, remember, weigh up the information and communicate this to others for a specific decision, we would look at using this to support you. This might include including making a ‘best interest decision’ as a team to support you until you are able to do so again.
If you are too unwell to stay in prison, you could be transferred to hospital for specialist care under the Mental Health Act 1983.There are different sections of the act that would apply depending on if you are sentenced (S47) or if you are not sentenced (S48). If you are discharged from hospital, you would be sent back to prison to complete your sentence. To transfer to hospital, you would be seen by two doctors who would assess whether you should be in hospital for treatment of your mental health difficulties, if it is urgent and if the treatment is available in hospital. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for deciding whether you should be transferred to hospital or from hospital back to prison. They may also add special restrictions to your transfer under S49. So, you might have a S47/49 or S48/49. If you have been in hospital under a S47 or S48 and have been discharged, you would be eligible for free S117 aftercare. If you would like more information on any of this, please ask us.
- How to access advocacy services
Advocates are independent people who can help you get your voice heard.
They will speak with you and listen to your concerns about your healthcare support (doctors, dentists, healthcare professionals) and social services support (social worker, carers and package of care). They will provide you with options such as: informal routes, resolution meetings and formal written complaints. You or your family and friends can access them. To request an Independent Advocate call: 0300 323 0965.
If you do not have capacity to make an informed choice about a serious decision effecting your mental health treatment and do not have anyone else who would be willing to represent you to understand your best interest, then an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) would be instructed as part of the Mental Capacity Act (2005).
If you are in hospital for specialist care under the Mental Health Act (1983), you are also able to access an Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA). They provide an important safeguard for you and your support. As each local area will have different IMHA services, please ask a member of staff in hospital.
Prisoners’ Advice Service offers free legal advice and support to adult prisoners throughout England and Wales regarding your human and legal rights, conditions of imprisonment and the application of prison law and rules. You can access these by speaking to your key worker or the PIDs worker.
- How to access a second opinion
If you disagree with your doctor or healthcare professional about your assessment or treatment or would like another healthcare professional to look at it again, you can talk to your current healthcare professional about this.
You can give your healthcare professional more information. This is the most important thing you can do, to make sure they can form an accurate professional opinion. If you disagree with their assessment of you, you can ask for a second opinion. A second opinion might give you more information about your options and/or might lead to a new diagnosis.
You might also not get the outcome you want. The second healthcare professional might agree with the first healthcare professional’s opinion or have another opinion that you don’t agree with. If your healthcare professional is a GP, you can ask for an opinion from another GP.
If your healthcare professional is a therapist/mental health nurse/psychologist you can ask to see a psychiatrist. If your healthcare professional is a psychiatrist, you can ask for an opinion from another psychiatrist.
You do not have a legal right to a second opinion. If your healthcare professional agrees that a second opinion will help, they will arrange one for you.
- Interpreting services
If you have communication needs (e.g., English not your first language, sign-language etc.) we can arrange for an interpreter to attend your appointments. For different languages, this will likely be over the phone. For other communication needs, this will be dependent on the need. Please let us know if this is the case.
- How to view your medical records
You have a legal right to see your own records. You do not have to explain why you want to see them. To see your notes, you need to make a written subject access request to your healthcare provider under the Data Protection Act 2018.
Healthcare providers need to respond to requests at the latest within one month of receiving the request. This can be extended to 3 months if the request is complex or there are multiple requests. Please speak to your healthcare provider for any updates.
What happens to the information I provide?
All information will remain confidential within the IMHT except in specific circumstances.
If you share something that highlights a risk to yourself or others, we will share the information and can do this without your permission. Summaries of what we talk about will be added to your medical record. This is shared across healthcare and potentially other providers (it is separate the prison system). However, staff will only access your record if they are working with you. If you are due to have parole, we may get asked to provide a short summary of your input from us.
What happens if I am released/transferred?
If you are working with us and transfer to another prison your care will also be transferred there. Your allocated IMHT worker will contact your new prison and provide a handover of the support you have received. Your support might change as each prison will not offer the same support.
If you are working with us and you are released, we will contact your GP or a Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) if required to transfer your care to them. We might also provide you with information on services that you can contact in the community. Together, we will discuss your care before your release/transfer (e.g., next steps, referrals to the CMHT, accessing therapy etc.).
If you are not registered with a community GP surgery, then you will receive a discharge letter to present to your community GP once you register with them.
If you have any concerns, you may prefer to put them in writing to the Complaints team at
Flatts Lane Centre,
Flatts Lane,
Normandy,
Middlesbrough,
TS6 0SZ.
Feedback
We would like to hear your thoughts so please let us know if you want to comment on whether:
- this information is useful.
- any information is missing.
- you do not understand the information.
L1196, V5, 20/12/2023 (archive 19/12/2026)
