Receiving adult social care and support in prison

Social care is the support you can receive if you need help to do some of the everyday things, that others don’t need help with. For example:

• Eating and drinking properly
• Keeping yourself clean
• Using the toilet
• Getting dressed and undressed
• Moving around and using your limited living space safely
• Keeping your living space clean and safe
• Maintaining relationships with your family or friends
• Taking part in work, education or training
• Using services like healthcare or leisure areas

There are certain laws around who can get help, but if you need help with two or more of these activities, and this is affecting your health and wellbeing, you may be able to have social care support.

The reason you might need this help may be because you have been told that you have a:

• physical disability
• brain condition like a stroke
• learning disability
• condition such as autism or ADHD
• long-term health condition such as type 1 or type 2 diabetes
• mental health diagnosis

You can ask for social care in two ways:

1. Refer yourself using the kiosk on your floor.

2. Ask any prison staff or healthcare staff member to refer you.

The form (or staff) will ask you:

• Whether you’ve ever had social care before coming into prison

• Whether you feel you have social care needs

If you say yes to either of these questions, you (or the staff) can refer you to a social worker at Peterborough City Council.

Unlike healthcare provided by the NHS, social care is not always free. If you need care, there may be circumstances where you are required to contribute towards the cost. If this applies, a financial assessment will be offered to determine how much you may need to pay. No one will be asked to contribute more than they can reasonably afford. 

If you want to say something positive about the service or raise a concern, you can do this by:

• Emailing the complaints team using this email address: complain@peterborough.gov.uk
• Completing a healthcare complaint form (available on the wing) and putting this in the box provided.