Offender Health Trainers IBA Pilot

Pilot Background

PCT's are being encouraged to make strides in implementing "High Impact Changes" to impact on the rate of alcohol hospital admissions.

"Developing Identification and Brief Advice (IBA) in criminal justice by persuading the Crime Reduction Partnerships of the importance of IBA to delivering crime reduction and savings across the public sector".

Offender Health Trainers (OHT's) play an increasingly important role in delivering health messages to offenders in a variety of settings; it would seem self-evident that they must be trained well and then play a key role in delivering effective IBA for alcohol-related harm. If we do not ensure this happens then they will be potentially ill-equipped to deal with one of the most significant health issues facing offenders and their families.

For more information about the IBA Pilot:

• Offender Health Trainers IBA Pilot

Pilot Settings and Evaluations to Date

Probation

The pilot programme ran in two areas in the South East Region, Portsmouth and Southampton beginning in April 2009 and ending in March 2010.

The programme involved the training of OHT's in 'Brief Advice' for alcohol harm-reduction to meet the objective of ensuring "that staff are fully competent to deliver brief advice and support to alcohol misusing offenders..." as identified in the NPS Alcohol Strategy 2006.

You can view the final probation reports below:

• IBA Alcohol Harm in Hampshire Probation Evaluation
  Report detailing and evaluating the Health Trainers pilot in Hampshire delivering IBA. Sara Mitchell. March 2010.
• Offender Health IBA Pilots Interim Report 09

Prison

The pilot programme will run in 3 prisons in the East of England, HMP Weyland. HMP Chelmsford and HMP Norwich.

Key project staff will undertake basic IBA training followed by 'Train the Trainer' training and then proceed to train the offender HT's in the prison setting.

These OHT's will be HT Champions, having undertaken the Royal Society of Public Health Understanding Health Improvement Level 2 award.

Evaluation Reports on the Pilot will be coming soon...