Going Above and Beyond

Niamh Noakes is to be recognised and commended for her caring nature and going above and beyond to support Prisoners on release.

Whilst going about her work in HMP Lewes seeing other clients,  she came across another Prisoner who needed support that had not been referred to us as Adult Social Care were involved in supporting him, or so it was thought!

Below is her explanation of the situation.

"Met Mr A this morning whilst seeing another client. During our conversation, it became apparent that  Mr A was confused about his release arrangements. Although he was due to be released that day, he believed he was being released the following day. Mr A is elderly, has significant speech difficulties, and appeared confused and disorientated, which raised concerns about his ability to travel independently to his accommodation.

Following this discussion, I contacted OMU and they confirmed that Adult Social Care (ASC) were due to meet Mr A at the prison gate and transport him to his care home in Enfield. I remained with him in reception and reviewed his licence conditions with him. His licence stated that he was required to attend Brighton Probation immediately upon release; however, there was no mention of the care home where he was required to reside.

Upon release, I accompanied Mr A outside the gate, but it quickly became apparent that ASC had not arrived to collect him. He was unable to explain how he would get to Brighton Probation and appeared unaware of its location. Given the circumstances and concerns regarding his vulnerability, I decided to accompany him to Brighton Probation to ensure he attended as required and to help arrange onward transport to Enfield.

We travelled to Brighton Probation by bus. Throughout the journey, I explained the plan to Mr A, although communication was difficult due to his speech impairment. It later emerged that he had recently suffered a stroke, which appeared to contribute to his communication difficulties and confusion.

At Brighton Probation, we met with the duty officer and reviewed Mr A's  licence conditions together. I explained the situation, and we were able to contact ASC and arrange for them to collect him directly from the probation office and transport him to his care home in Enfield.

While awaiting collection, I accompanied Mr A to a nearby shop where he purchased a vape before returning to the probation office. He then waited in a side room for ASC to arrive. I wished him well before leaving. Later in the day, I received confirmation from his Probation Officer , that Mr A had been successfully collected by ASC and transported safely to his care home:

‘Hi Niamh,

I forgot to message at the time, he got picked up about 2 hours ago! Thanks so much for your help, don’t know what would’ve happened without your service and help.’"