South Yorkshire RECONNECT covers HMP Doncaster, HMP Hatfield, HMP Moorland and HMP Lindholme.
RECONNECT seeks to improve the wellbeing and continuity of care of people aged 18 and over leaving prison or an immigration removal centre, including those on remand and release on temporary licence, with an identified health need.
We work with people before they leave prison to support their transition to community-based services. The service can offer support for up to 12 weeks prior to release and continue to support for up to six months post-release date, or when all health care needs are met whichever is the soonest.
RECONNECT operates on a “no wrong door” referral system.
You can be referred up to 12 weeks before your release date or up to 28 days after your release. Talk to your prison healthcare team or probation practitioner, and they can make a referral for you. Your friends and family can also contact RECONNECT services directly to make a referral. You can also make a self-referral once you have been released.
Referrals can also be accepted from probation, police, liaison and diversion services and/or home office enforcement teams for individuals who have been released in the past 28 days.
You will be offered a one-to-one peer support worker who has been through similar experiences. They will work with you until you are engaged with appropriate community-based health services or are discharged from the service.
Whilst not a clinical service, RECONNECT offers liaison, advocacy, signposting, and support to facilitate engagement with community-based health and support service.
Why would someone choose the service?
We are here to help people reach their potential and live well in their communities by providing high-quality care in the right place at the right time
Our experienced, friendly, and approachable team will help people to reconnect with health and social care services in the South Yorkshire region upon release from prison or immigration removal centres
Once your referral is accepted, we can start working with you straight away up to 12 weeks prior to release and continue to support you for up to 6 months after release
Our staff will help you work at your own pace and always respect your wishes
We work closely and in partnership with other agencies to ensure all your healthcare needs are met
Our team are able to signpost you to other relevant services
Our team will help you work at your own pace and always respect your wishes
We have won a Silver Award in Lived Experience Charter
Our values:
We put the person first and in the centre
We know that families and carers matter
We are respectful, honest, open, and transparent
We improve and aim to be outstanding
We are relevant today and ready for tomorrow
Staff you may meet
Administrative staff provide essential support to doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. This can be in a variety of different settings, with administrators working as a receptionist in a clinic or a clerk on a ward. They may also be working closely with a consultant as a medical secretary.
A care navigator provides advice and support to individuals their families or carers during their care. They often make home visits and support hospital discharges. Care navigators can also signpost and refer individuals to the appropriate services or help arrange care based on the individual’s needs.
Nurses who choose to specialise in the mental health branch of nursing work with GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, and others, to help care for patients. Increasingly, care is given in the community, with mental health nurses visiting patients and their families at home, in residential centres, in prisons or in specialist clinics or units.
There are many people who work behind the scenes to keep services running and you may meet them in hospital or community settings. They include porters, cleaners, plumbers, electricians, decorators receptionists and secretaries who all work to make sure healthcare settings are kept clean, tidy and safe.
The NHS employs a wide range of clinical staff, it wouldn’t be possible to list them all on this website! All our clinical staff are skilled, dedicated professionals who adhere to high standards of training and work-place practice.
We have a range of health workers who all have different specialities. This could be in a certain condition, a therapy or the advice they can give you. Our specialists our highly skilled and trained professionals, ready to offer you help and advice whenever you need it.
Why a professional should choose the service
RECONNECT provides a service for prisoners in South Yorkshire that are aligned with national and local ambitions which include the outcomes set out within the Justice System Priority objectives in the NHS long term plan.
To meet the health needs of the prison population in South Yorkshire that are due for release, it is important that we have a comprehensive understanding of the health needs and demographics of the population, as well as turnover. Whilst we have limited health data at present, we will evolve our understanding further by drawing on data sources recommended within the health and justice health needs assessment template PHE: adult prisons, and other evidenced based sources.
We will gather data from SystmOne and other data sources to understand health and unmet health needs to inform service planning and to assist with demand and capacity modelling over time, but for now we are using national reviews as a proxy for gathering data within local prisons.
An evaluation of RECONNECT services is currently taking place by the University of Leicester. We intend to become part of this evaluation once our service becomes live.
The RECONNECT delivery partners will work together to ensure that consistent processes, services, and pathways are in place to enable information, assessment and consent are in place. Appropriate and accessible treatment for all offenders (including those with multiple and complex health and social care needs, ethnicity, communication, and accessibility needs) is made available considering all protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010.
Outcomes:
To safeguard the health gains made in custody and build upon them in the community, supporting service users into health, social care, or other supportive services
Improved access to healthcare and support services for vulnerable individuals leaving prison and detention settings
A reduction in health inequalities
Well supported individuals with participation difficulties to ensure their effective participation
A reduction in re-offending and/or escalation of offending behaviors
Greater inclusion of prison leavers.
Increased links to third sector organisations
Support offered
Support whilst you are still in prison: Once your referral to RECONNECT is accepted, the team can start working with you straight away, up to 12 weeks prior to release and continue to support you for up to 6 months after release. The team will offer you a minimum of two face-to-face contacts prior to release. If this is not possible, we will offer virtual and/or telephone contact
Peer support: You will be offered a one-to-one peer support worker who has been through similar experiences. They will work with you until you are engaged with appropriate community-based health services or are discharged from the service
Personal support plan: Before your release, the team will meet with you to create a personal plan for your support
Accessing healthcare: They can help you get to and engage with community health services for up to six months after release and help you with completing the necessary forms
Registering with a doctor and dentist: the team can help you to register with a doctor (GP) and a dentist, who will support you with all your health needs including medications
Connecting with health staff: After release, the team will work with you to connect with healthcare staff and teams in the community
Getting to health appointments: The team can assist you in organising and getting to your health appointments eg, navigating local transport services
Outcomes
To safeguard the health gains made in custody and build upon them in the community, supporting service users into health, social care, or other supportive services
Improved access to healthcare and support services for vulnerable individuals leaving prison and detention settings
A reduction in health inequalities
Well supported individuals with participation difficulties to ensure their effective participation
A reduction in re-offending and/or escalation of offending behaviors
Greater inclusion of prison leavers
Referrals accepted from:
Carers/family, Home office enforcement teams, Liaison and diversion service, Other NHS services, Patients(self-referral), Police, Prison healthcare team, Probation, RECONNECT services
Referral criteria:
Individuals aged 18 years or abovewho will be leaving a secure/detained setting (prison/immigration removal centre) with an identified health vulnerability who would otherwise struggle to engage with community-based healthcare services and/or relevant support services. Referrals can be made by the prison healthcare team, probation services, police, liaison and diversion services, home office enforcement teams (people released within the last 28 days) and other RECCONECT services.
Individuals with health vulnerabilities aged 18 years or above who have left a prison or immigration removal centre within the last 28 days. Referrals can be made by self-referral, carers, and family members. Please e-mail the South Yorkshire RECONNECT service – Reconnect@swyt.nhs.uk to enquire about making a self-referral or if you wish to make a referral on behalf of someone else.