“Today’s report reflects the many challenges we have experienced since we took over delivering healthcare services at Yarl’s Wood in 2014.

“Since that time, we have worked closely with our NHS commissioners to adapt the service so it more closely reflects detainees’ healthcare needs.  Waiting times to see GPs are now down to around 48 hours, we have reduced our reliance on agency staff and also cut the waiting time for assessments of those people for whom continued detention may not be appropriate. 

“There is still work to do to continue to improve the overall service to detainees, particularly in terms of better joint-working across all agencies.  While this report acknowledges that many measures to secure value for money do not easily apply to services for people who may be vulnerable, we are committed to striving to work better together with partners at Yarl’s Wood.  This will help us both to improve the level of care to detainees and ultimately create the smartest and most efficient service possible.”