Quality standard

This quality standard covers assessing, diagnosing and managing physical health problems of adults aged 18 years and older in prisons or young offender institutes. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.

It does not cover:

  • people in immigration removal centres
  • people in police custody
  • NHS care provided for prisoners outside the prison service (for example in an acute hospital)
  • end of life care
  • dental management, other than self-care.

How to use NICE quality standards and how we develop them

Quality standards help you improve the quality of care you provide or commission. They apply in England and Wales (see the UK government website and Welsh government website). Decisions on how they apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland are made by ministers in the Scottish government and Northern Ireland Executive.

Find out how to use quality standards and how we develop them. We check our quality standards every August to make sure they are up to date.