Glenochil governor calls for rethink on how prisoners over 60 are managed

The governor of Glenochil Prison is calling for a radical rethink on how inmates over the age of 60 are managed within the system.

Sharanne Findlay believes some prisoners could be better managed and have the proper care provided to them in a less secure setting, as prisons struggle to cope with rising numbers.

Glenochil houses some of Scotland’s most notorious sex offenders and murderers, and it is one with a rapidly ageing population.

Residential officer at Glenochil, Steven Zanieri, said: “A lot of people don’t want to work here, because of the kind of prisoners we have got and the age of the prisoners we have.

“We had one recently that passed away a couple of weeks ago, he was well into his late 80s.

“It’s not what we are trained to deal with, we are not a hospital or a care home, but it is getting more and more like that.

Agency social care staff are working 24/7 alongside prison officers.

It’s a level of care that vulnerable older people in the community often miss out on, but while in custody, there’s no choice but to provide it.

Colin Dougall from Ailsa Care described the challenges of providing care in a prison setting.

He said: “For example, we will have a 4 x 4 cell, and there are two prisoners to each cell, so if you are providing care, things like trying to get a hoist in can be very difficult.

“They can get stressed with it, and we understand that, they know that there is nothing else we can do but if they have dementia or something like that, then they can kick off at any moment, and that’s why we always have officers with us.”

Colin believes a prison care home would be a “great idea”.

He continued: “Then you wouldn’t have 70-year-olds having to climb up on bunk beds.”

The cost of providing this care is crippling for the prison service, in Scotland alone it rose more than 450% in just over five years to almost £2.9m.

In the last 15 years, the number of prisoners over the age of 50 has tripled at Glenochil, meaning that age group now makes up more than a quarter of the total prison population.

With that comes extra care and mobility needs, putting extra pressure on an already over-stretched prison and health care system.

That is a challenge Glenochil’s Governor Sharanne Findlay who is grappling with each day, as her population exceeds capacity.

She said: “We have a total of 700 prisoners within here. We have accessible cells that we have had to make some adaptations to.

“We have replaced bunk beds with hospital beds, which effectively has taken away one bed so that reduces my overall design capacity within the prison, but it is the only way to provide proper care for the person and make sure their needs are met.

Removing over 60s from this prison would put Glenochil below capacity – the governor believes it’s time to radically rethink the system for this age group.

But some would argue that these prisoners should be serving their entire sentence locked up, whether it’s suitable or not.

She continued: “It may be that using less secure facilities is an option, and would be more suitable, or indeed is it appropriate that we manage these people in the community.

“I think the fewer people we have in prison, the more we can look after those who really need to be in prison.”

“I full appreciate some of society’s views might differ on that, but these people can still be safely managed in a much less secure environment. It doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be accommodated in a prison.”

This is a system at breaking point, no longer fit for purpose, unable to cater for this growing and ageing population while putting excessive strain on staff.