A prison that has seen the death of 14 inmates in the last two years has been labelled as “struggling” following a “concerning” inspection.

The inspection at HMP Swaleside on Sheppey, which holds men convicted of serious offences and those who pose a high risk to the public, found it is having “chronic” difficulties in recruiting officers.

In the report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons it is stated that levels of violence were high at the institution and drugs too easy to obtain.

At the time of inspection, in September, more than 40% of prisoners were serving lengthy sentences of more than 10 years, a further 43% were serving indeterminate sentences, mostly life, and one unit was for men convicted of a sexual offence.

In the report, an inspector explained that the prison, which can hold up to 839 inmates, was relying on staff on detached duty loaned from other prisons to deliver even a severely restricted daily routine, which failed to provide the kind of purposeful, rehabilitative environment needed for such a high-risk population.

They continued saying the prison had “chronic difficulties in recruiting officers and more specialist staff”.

At the time of the inspection, this was reflected in very restricted daily routines and the presence of many temporary staff from other prisons.

Charlie Taylor, HM chief inspector of prisons said: “This was our sixth visit to Swaleside since 2016.

“During that time, we have repeatedly raised significant concerns about the prison.

“I therefore decided to announce this inspection six months in advance to give leaders the opportunity to use our inspection as a focus for improvement. Our findings suggest that they grasped that opportunity.

“Outcomes in all four of our healthy prison areas remain concerning, but the governor has shown commendable commitment to the prison and has evidenced an energy and application that has helped keep it remarkably stable despite all the challenges.”

However, one of the key improvements that inspectors noted was the reduction of self-harm, which, while it remained higher than other comparable prisons, had fallen by 56% since the 2021 inspection.

“We have repeatedly raised significant concerns about the prison...”

Despite this, fourteen prisoners have died at Swaleside in the previous two years, including seven who have taken their own lives.

Ongoing weaknesses at the jail included inconsistent support for prisoners at risk, a failure by some night staff to carry anti-ligature knives, slow responses to cell bells, and inadequate reviews of recommendations from coroners and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO).

The inspector said good work was being done to understand the causes of violence, but the prison remained too violent, with higher levels than other category B prisons and with increasing numbers of assaults between prisoners.

It was noted there were few progression opportunities, and many category C prisoners were unable to transfer to a more suitable prison because of national population pressures.

More prisoners were therefore being released directly from Swaleside at the end of their sentence, and the prison was doing good work to improve public protection measures and provide some resettlement support.

One of the key staffing shortfalls, however, continued to be prison offender managers, who should have played a vital role in supporting the management of the high-risk population held at Swaleside.

Mr Taylor continued: “Overall, this was a concerning inspection.

“Swaleside is a prison that continues to struggle and where outcomes still need to improve dramatically.

“Without the reduction in the prisoner population and the deployment of staff from other jails, it is hard to imagine how the prison would have coped.”

“Swaleside is a prison that continues to struggle and where outcomes still need to improve dramatically...”

The report also stated that as the prison has issues with recruiting staff, the inmates’ regimes were restricted.

This meant about two-fifths of the men were locked in their cells during the working day.

HMP Swaleside and the Ministry of Justice has been contacted for comment.

The Howard League for Penal Reform, the oldest penal reform charity in the world, works for less crime, safer communities, and fewer people in prison.

Rob Preece, communications manager for the national charity said: “Swaleside prison has been struggling for many years and, in the chief inspector’s own words, it is hard to imagine how it would have coped, had there not been a recent reduction in the number of men held there.

“Even now, after a determined effort to reduce self-harm, the prison is not safe enough and it is being forced to rely on temporary staff arriving from elsewhere.

“Locking men in their cells when they could be working or in education will not help them to turn their lives around and move on from crime.

“Swaleside was built in the 1980s. We often hear about the grim conditions inside Victorian prisons, but this report should remind everyone that there are major issues in newer jails as well.

“When they are asked to do too much, with too little, for too long, they will fail, however old they may be.”

In response, a prison service spokesman said: “We are pleased inspectors recognised the efforts of our hardworking staff which have helped reduce incidents of self-harm at the prison.

“With significantly increased salaries of more than £30,000, we’re also recruiting and retaining more prison officers – with 4,600 more across the country than in 2017 – enabling us to quickly deploy staff to where they’re needed most.”

The inspection report for Swaleside prison is available on His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons website.