NHS looks set to take on healthcare in police stations

The NHS should be responsible for providing healthcare in police cells and custody suites, the Ministry of Justice will suggest this month.

The NHS should be responsible for providing healthcare in police cells and custody suites, the Ministry of Justice will suggest this month.

These services are provided by local police forces. Following the transfer of prison health services to the NHS, the government is looking to extend transfer to the NHS to other parts of the criminal justice system. 'The intention is to spread that learning into new areas including interventions with police,' Richard Bradshaw, the Department of Health's director of offender health, told an RCN prison nursing conference in London.

A consultation document on offender health and social care is due to be published next week.