To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the average waiting time between assessment of a prisoner and subsequent transfer to a hospital for physical or mental care. (133978)

The information requested is not collected centrally.

Prisoners who are assessed as requiring treatment in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 should be so transferred within 12 weeks of the responsible national health service organisation receiving the referral. A reduced waiting time standard of two weeks is currently being piloted.

For hospital appointments, Prison Service Order 3050, continuity of care for prisoners, sets out what prison governors must do to ensure prisoners receive timely clinical interventions and treatment. A copy has been placed in the Library. It is also available on the HM Prison Service website at:

http://pso.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/PSO_3050_continuity_of_healthcare_for_prisoners.doc