Healthcare at a County Durham prison has been forced to improve after inspectors found concerns over primary care, medicines, staffing and governance.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) issued action plans after finding breaches involving safe care and treatment, governance and staffing at HMP / YOI Deerbolt.
A follow-up review found some improvements, but said more work was needed and issued another action plan on governance.
The latest focused assessment, carried out alongside a joint inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) in August 2026, found the provider had made the required improvements.
HMP/YOI Deerbolt, near Barnard Castle (Image: The Northern Echo)
The CQC said the provider now met the relevant regulations.
Inspectors found better incident reporting and oversight, with staff discussing incidents at daily safety meetings and managers checking records.
Investigations were assigned to suitable staff, dealt with promptly and shared across the wider healthcare team to spread learning, the CQC said.
A new incident dashboard lets managers track reported incidents, their progress and emerging trends.
The latest assessment found records of staff completing supplementary training were now in place.
Healthcare providers at Deerbolt were attending regular clinical governance meetings, while medicines management meetings reviewed processes and prescribing trends.
During its inspection, the CQC observed a daily safety huddle attended by the head of healthcare, clinical leads and nurses.
The CQC said staff could contribute and records tracked follow-up action.
HMP/YOI Deerbolt, near Barnard Castle (Image: ANDY FUTERS)
Dr Linda Harris, Chief Executive at Spectrum Community Health, said: "We are incredibly proud of the team at HMP Deerbolt and grateful for the commitment, resilience and hard work they have shown in delivering the improvements recognised by the CQC.
"This achievement reflects not only the dedication of our colleagues, but also the strength of partnership working across the prison, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), Rethink Mental Illness and Waythrough, working together under our collective Reconnected to Health model.
"By combining our expertise and maintaining a shared focus on quality, safety and patient care, we have been able to deliver meaningful improvements that make a real difference.
"We are also proud that this outcome means all Spectrum services across our Community and Health & Justice portfolio are now rated Good or Outstanding.
"A big thank you to everyone at HMP Deerbolt and across our partner organisations who have played a part in this achievement and in improving the care and support provided to patients."
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The CQC said it does not currently rate prison services.
Instead, it highlights good practice, identifies improvements providers must make and takes regulatory action when necessary.
The latest assessment covered two quality statements under the safe and well-led questions.
The CQC said the provider had made enough progress to address the previously identified breaches.