National baseline review of healthcare provision within police custody centres in Scotland
Document Type
Process guidance
Summary
Many of those brought into custody in Scotland tend to be vulnerable, have experienced trauma in their lives and often have health problems.
Responsibility for the provision of healthcare in custody centres transferred from Police Scotland to NHS Scotland in 2014. Governance and oversight of healthcare to police custody centres is retained by individual NHS boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCP) across Scotland. In 2022, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland worked jointly to undertake a baseline review to establish a benchmark of current healthcare provision to people detained within police custody centres across Scotland. The aim of the review is to inform planning of future inspections of police custody centres to be undertaken jointly by both organisations.
This report outlines our findings and highlights the wide variation across Scotland in access to healthcare for people in police custody.
The report also outlines examples of good practice and makes a number of recommendations, including nationally agreed waiting time standards for the assessment and treatment of individuals detained in police custody centres, and the development of up-to-date guidance on the delivery of police custody healthcare.