Radical changes are needed to improve health and social care for elderly prisoners, says the crime reduction charity Nacro, formerly the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders. The charity says that of the 7358 prisoners older than 50 in England and Wales, some 80% have chronic illnesses or disabilities but miss out on the most basic provision.

Sally Wentworth James, senior policy adviser at Nacro, said that a Social Exclusion Unit report published in 2002 (Reducing Re-offending by Ex-prisoners) states that prisoners age up to 10 …