Custody progress inspection report - Argyll and West Dunbartonshire

5. During the inspection in May 2024, we were concerned at the lack of established structures and processes in place to provide assurance of clinical and care governance of police custody healthcare delivery within Oban police custody centre. This included a lack of regular meetings between the HSCP and Police Scotland to discuss police custody healthcare.

6. During the progress inspection, we were pleased to see that this had now been addressed and there was evidence of a clear governance structure and reporting process in place. This structure and reporting process also provided assurance to the NHS Highland Integration Joint Board (IJB), that recommendations and concerns from the May 2024 inspection were being progressed. A steering group had been established to address the recommendations and concerns raised in our initial report.

7. A representative from Police Scotland with responsibility for Oban custody centre was a member of the steering group. Priority had been given to developing operating procedures and training for Forensic Medical Examiners (FME) working within the custody centre and that there had been significant work undertaken. During this inspection we saw that an Oban Forensic Medical Examiner Information, Pathways and Resources pack had been developed and that training resources, policies and guidelines were now in place, and were easily accessible electronically.

8. Despite the progress made by the HSCP in clinical care governance, there is still potential for further improvements. Measuring outcomes is challenging across all areas, particularly due to the transient nature of the population in police custody. However, the HSCP needs to gather more robust evidence of local population needs, for example, the type of healthcare intervention required by detainees, the frequency of referrals for healthcare, including the number of people transferred to hospital. This will help to support, design and deliver healthcare services. The lack of this evidence limits the ability to develop and implement plans that effectively meet identified needs and measure outcomes for people in custody.