The Route to Success in End of Life Care – Achieving Quality in Prisons and for Prisoners is part of a cross-government drive to improve offender health following predictions that an ageing prison population will see more deaths from natural causes in prisons.

The document, part of the programme’s route to success series for improving end of life care, is intended as a practical guide for both prison staff and health and social care professionals.

It emphasises the need for all those involved in a person’s care to work across service boundaries to identify those nearing the end of life and respond accordingly. Regular assessments and reviews, advance care planning and communication between professionals and services are vital to improving end of life care in prisons, it says.

It is particularly important that prison staff and NHS staff working within prisons form good communication channels with local community services.