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<p>We recognise that the level of self-harm in the women’s estate is too high and
are determined to reduce this. A task force was set up in April 2020 in response to
our increasing concerns about the level of self-harm in the women’s estate. We know
that many of the drivers and protective factors linked to women’s risk of self-harm
in prisons have been affected by Covid-19 and the restricted regimes that have been
put in place to control the spread of infection.</p><p>The task force worked to introduce
a number of specific interventions to counteract the impact of Covid-19 on the women’s
estate, including bespoke well-being checks, increased phone credit and more access
to video calls with family and friends.</p><p>We have prioritised women’s prisons
for the roll out of the revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork
(ACCT) multi-disciplinary case management system used in prisons to support people
at risk of suicide and self-harm. We also introduced the Offender Management in Custody
model in the female estate in April. This will provide each woman with a dedicated
key worker or equivalent who will be able to better support them and identify concerns
at an early stage so that women can receive the right support at the right time.</p><p>We
have produced a range of products to support Governors in devising and implementing
local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate risks and promote wellbeing. We
have developed new guidance for staff on understanding and supporting someone who
is self-harming. We continue to make the Samaritans phone service available and are
working with this charity to ensure that the Listener peer support scheme continues
to function effectively.</p><p>Importantly, we have also invested £5m in alternatives
to prison, including new women’s centres which help people address issues such as
alcohol or drug addiction which leads them to crime.</p>
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