Prison IT and data sharing issues risk patient safety, finds report

Poor interoperability between digital systems and challenges with GP registration processes in prisons are causing risks to patient safety, according to an investigation by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB). 

The report, ‘Healthcare provision in prisons‘, published on 24 July 2025, explores how information is shared between prison operational IT systems and prison healthcare IT systems.

HSSIB found that prison security and prison healthcare teams use different IT systems that cannot automatically share data, meaning that important patient information – such as whether a person poses a risk to themselves or others – is not always available to the clinicians treating them.

Staff in prison healthcare departments are also required to duplicate appointment information across both systems, which can amount to thousands of entries per month, significantly increasing administrative workload and the potential for errors.

Dave Frasssam, senior safety investigator at HSSIB, said: “Our investigation found that there are significant gaps in digital systems, affecting the care of people in prisons.

“The lack of interoperability between the prison operational IT system and the prison healthcare IT system is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed because vital information is being lost – the prison workforce told us doubling up on entries creates a significant burden, meaning errors are more likely to occur.

“The report also emphasises that people in prison must be given the time and space to understand what the transfer of registration from their community GP to the prison GP means.

“Patients in prison that were spoken to during the investigation reinforced that the process could be confusing and rushed.”

The report notes that while the prison healthcare IT system has been adapted to allow future interoperability, the prison operational IT systems have not and there are currently no plans to update them.

HSSIB has recommended that HM Prison and Probation Services ensure that “the development of the Digital Prison Services system includes interoperability with healthcare IT systems” to ensure relevant information is available at the point of need.

It also calls for NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to “include within its healthcare IT procurement system specification the need to support interoperability between the operational prison IT systems and any future prison healthcare IT system”.

Fassam said: “By improving process and streamlining digital systems, there is opportunity to reduce duplication and inefficiency, ensure smoother transitions for people in prison back to the community on release and most importantly ensure better care for patients in prison, whether they need an urgent appointment or are monitoring a long-term chronic condition.”

A spokesperson for NHSE told Digital Health News that it is working to improve support for prisons, including reprocuring an enhanced clinical IT system that can easily connect with other systems, including operational systems within prisons.

“We are also continuing to provide help to register with a local GP practice to ensure continuity of care when people in prison leave and return to the community,” they said.

Digital Health News contacted DHSC and HM Prison and Probation Services for comment.