Podcast - Mental health and respiratory disease in current and ex-prisoners
This podcast is part of the PCRS 2025 health inequalities project and covers the impact of mental health and respiratory disease in current and ex-prisoners..
In this PCRS Health Inequalities podcast Katherine Hickman (PCRS executive chair, Kaniksha Aggarwal, Martin Sutcliffe and Sue Wheatcroft discuss respiratory disease and mental health in the context of the UK prison setting. They touch on:
- the challenges of delivering healthcare services to current and ex-prisoners and providing them with access to interventions such as pulmonary rehabilitation (PR),
- what care and support is available,
- knowledge and understanding of long-term health conditions by prisoners and prison staff (providing information in an accessible format),
- getting up to date and effective medication into prisons (AIR and MART etc), and
- the importance of compassion, kindness and validation.
Useful resources
Books and written resources
David Sellu - Did he Save Lives
A senior Surgeon convicted of gross negligence manslaughter tells his prison story here, ultimately exonerated.
Stitched Up - Stories of life and death from a prison doctor
This book discusses the moral/ethical/legal situation in the context of a prison Doctors stories.
The Prison Doctor collection
Amanda Brown tells some interesting stories on her journey as a Doctor through the prison estate. It includes some good reflection on the differences between different prison institutions.
Chris Atkins: a journalist sharing his experience of going to prison in his first book (A bit of a stretch) and wider experiences in his second book (Time after time).
A bit of a stretch - The diaries of a prisoner
Time after time - Why criminals can't quit crime
Health Services Safety Investigation Body (HSSIB) - Healthcare provision in prisons: emergency care response
A report which is intended for healthcare and justice organisations, policy makers and the public to help improve patient safety in relation to the delivery of emergency care in prisons.
Serials
The Secret Prisoner - PAYWALL
Podcasts
Chris Atkins
A bit of a stretch
Time After Time, Chris Atkins (book above also)
Prison Sex and relationships with Chris Atkins
Other
The Secret Life of Prisons (weekly)
Behind the crime (BBC Sounds)
(Trauma informed care, forensic psychology)
Life after Prison
The Reith lectures (BBC Radio 4)
From 2024, an interesting series on violence
TV series
Time (BBC)
This is reputedly the most accurate dramatisation of prison life in existence.
Documentaries
Unlocked - A prison experiment
Speakers
-
Katherine Hickman
Katherine qualified from Leeds University in 2000. She originally did a Medicine Rotation acquiring her MRCP before settling into General Practice. She is a GP Partner in Bradford. Katherine is the Respiratory Lead for West Yorkshire ICB, Primary Care Clinical Lead for the National Respiratory Audit Programme (NRAP), and Chair of PCRS. Outside of work she enjoys cooking, baking, yoga, and outdoor swimming and has recently rediscovered her love for singing and joined a choir. -
Martin Sutcliffe
Martin is a General Practitioner with a portfolio career. His clinical practice is at a local remand/release Prison where he provides General Medical Services and Substance Misuse services at prison reception. Alongside this he is an Associate Medical Director at Yorkshire Ambulance Service with a portfolio covering remote and urgent care services including NHS111 and 999 call centres and has an education role in GP registrar education across Yorkshire. He is passionate about recognising and addressing health inequalities across the health system. -
Kaniksha Aggarwal
Kaniksha is a prison pharmacist and the founder of Prison Pharmacy Connect. A platform that shares Kaniksha's experiences of working in prison while being curious about people's healthcare journeys during their time in prison. Be a part of her journey by following below:
https://youtube.com/@prisonpharmacyconnect?si=IWPx_l7fkZU3ye8S -
Sue Wheatcroft
Dr Sue Wheatcroft is an independent researcher and university lecturer. She also has lived experience of mental health and the criminal justice system (CJS), and campaigns actively to improve the lives of those with personality disorder and women in prison. In 2017, she established the Derbyshire Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Support Group, which has helped over 400 people worldwide. She has participated in various joint research projects (NHS/CJS/Universities) and is a staunch believer in co-production, advocating for those with lived experience from every section of society to be involved at all levels of the decision-making process. Sue is a regular speaker at conferences and on webinars/podcasts.
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Health inequalities are an exacerbating factor for respiratory conditions and negatively affect patient outcomes. PCRS aims to raise awareness and offers practical resources to help healthcare professionals to mitigate their impact.