Corrections to trial ‘hospital hub’, current model of hospital escorts ‘no longer fit-for-purpose’

The "hospital hub" pilot plans from Corrections come soon after a prisoner escaped during a hospital escort in Auckland in November. Photo / Greg Bowker

By Sam Sherwood of RNZ

Corrections is set to trial a pilot for a “hospital hub” with the current model of hospital escorts “no longer fit-for-purpose”, according to its CEO.

The news comes after a prisoner was on the run for more than a week in November after escaping while in a hospital escort in Auckland.

In an email sent to staff on Friday and seen by RNZ, Department of Corrections chief executive Jeremy Lightfoot said the director of physical health and chief nurse within Pae Ora, Ben Storey, had joined Custodial Services for the next 12 months as Corrections lead of hospital hub.

“Those of you who work in custody will know how resource-intensive prison escorts to hospitals can be, as well as the risks they can pose. Considerable time is often spent in the emergency department or outpatient waiting rooms.”

Corrections was also aware other patients could find it “intimidating” to be next to a person in handcuffs, Lightfoot said.

“The current model for hospital escorts is no longer fit-for-purpose. It’s not good for our custodial officers (the overtime hours required can potentially create a health and safety issue), the people being escorted, or other patients. We need a more co-ordinated and planned approach to managing prisoners in hospital.”

Storey would be working alongside Custodial and Pae Ora teams as well as external stakeholders “to develop new operating models”, Lightfoot said.

“He’ll be analysing our data to better understand where, why, and for how long our people are in hospital. This will help us build a stronger picture of our resourcing requirements to support hospital escorts.”

There was also the potential to secure a physical location to co-ordinate teams while based in the hospital.

“The focus will be on ensuring our custodial officers are well resourced and equipped, with the safety of our people and the community prioritised. We are also considering introducing a new roster to manage escorts in a more planned way.”

Lightfoot said it was intended there would be a pilot of a hospital hub at one of the Auckland hospitals.

“Auckland has been chosen given the high number of prisoners across the Auckland-based prisons that can be in hospital at any one time (on some days upwards of 30 Auckland-based officers are undertaking escort duties).

Department of Corrections chief executive Jeremy Lightfoot is seeking more co-ordinated and planned approach to managing prisoners in hospital. Photo / Mark Mitchell

“The lessons learned from the pilot will be applicable across the entire network. This is a critical piece of work, and we will keep you posted on progress.”

A Corrections spokesperson told RNZ the work was not connected to any particular incident and that triaging would still be determined by medical staff at hospitals.

Commissioner of Custodial Services Leigh Marsh said in a statement public safety was the top priority. Each year Corrections carries out tens of thousands of prisoner escorts between prisons, courts, specialist medical facilities and rehabilitation providers, he said.

“Corrections is exploring what improvements can be made to ensure the health and safety of our staff, strengthening our prison operations and maintaining public safety.

“This will involve us looking at data to clearly understand where, why and for how long prisoners are in hospital. From there we will be looking at whether we need to develop new operating models for our hospital escort process. This will not involve a reduction in the number of staff carrying out hospital escorts.”

Marsh said the purpose was to ensure corrections officers carrying out hospital escorts were well resourced and equipped, with staff and public safety paramount.

“Some of the options to be explored include how we better co-ordinate services and having a dedicated roster for hospital escorts to reduce the reliance on overtime.

“This work has only just started and Corrections will be working with stakeholders, including our unions on these potential opportunities.”

– RNZ