In April 2024, healthcare providers in London prisons and NHS England London region signed up to the Co-produced NHS England Health & Justice London & Pact (Prison Advice & care trust) Family and Carers’ Charter for Health and Justice Services. The Charter is the first document of its kind – a recognition of the important role that families and carers play in their loved ones’ healthcare in prison, and a commitment to listen to them. Healthcare Signatories of the Charter pledge to undertake nine actions that were developed in partnership with lived experience families and carers of people in prison, taking small steps that will make a real difference to the experiences of patients, families, and carers.

The Charter was developed through extensive engagement with families and helps to ‘close the loop’ and share back to families what has resulted from their feedback. This is important for trust building, especially with a cohort of service users who may have had difficult experiences when engaging with services in the past.

The Carers Charter aims to catalyse a set of actions from healthcare providers that will improve the experiences of families and improve patient care. Having this Charter on the NHS England Website is important as it provides transparency to families, service users and the public – and enables them to hold healthcare providers to account for delivering on the pledges that have been made.

We hope by having the Carers Charter in the public domain signals that these nine key points are promises that partners/signatories intend to commit to and, it may also inspire other sections of the NHS who see/hear of the Charter to make their own personalised and co-produced commitments to families in the future.

If you wish to sign up to the Carers Charter, please email listentofamilies@prisonadvice.org.uk.