3 March 2025
Pae Ora at Corrections
The Pae Ora Group is responsible for delivering evidence-informed, culturally responsive health and rehabilitation services to people under Corrections management. Many people can picture these types of services in a community setting, but understanding how these services are delivered in a Corrections setting can be a little harder to imagine. So, what does healthcare and rehabilitation look like within Pae Ora at Corrections?
The healthcare centre
People often come into prison with significant health, disability, mental health and addiction related needs and may not have seen a general practitioner prior to entering prison. When a person enters prison, Corrections' immediate priority is to ensure their good mental and physical health. To do this, each prison has a health centre which is managed by a Health Centre Manager, and a team of nurses alongside medical officers, physiotherapists, and dentists providing care.
Our nurses provide a range of primary healthcare services such as emergency care, acute injury and illness management, health promotion, long-term condition management, education, screening, and the administration of medications and vaccinations.
Each new person to prison undergoes an initial health assessment, which includes staff assessing their health and mental health needs and whether they require referral to a prison medical officer, dentist, allied health practitioner, or our prison-based mental health services. Ongoing assessments are undertaken throughout a person's time in prison.
Medical officer clinics are similar to that of a general practitioner in the community, and they manage acute and chronic health needs, prescribing medications and referrals to other health services that may be required. Additionally, dentists and physiotherapists provide clinics and people may be referred to other health providers within prison or in the community as necessary, including services provided by public hospitals and specialists.
What makes it different?
The nurse-led service enables nurses to work autonomously to plan healthcare, including administering medications and the use of standing orders, and using clinical judgement to prioritise health needs.
Nursing and medical services in a Corrections environment are delivered in partnership with custodial services. Health practitioners are accompanied by custodial staff (eg Corrections Officers) to ensure the safety of health staff, within the health centre and the wider prison.
Mental health teams
As well as teams providing health services to support people’s physical health needs, we also have services focused on supporting mental health needs. Mental health staff within Corrections are typically registered health professionals who have some level of training or experience in supporting people who have mild to high mental health needs towards recovery. This often includes:
- undertaking individualised assessment and/or delivering interventions focusing on symptom reduction and general wellbeing
- liaising with, facilitating or promoting contact with support networks to assist in reducing or managing a person's distress, if appropriate
- collaborative safety planning to support a person to manage their distress
Corrections refers individuals with severe or enduring mental health concerns to Forensic Mental Health Services (FMHS) for specialised assessments and treatment while in a prison environment. FMHS are funded by Health New Zealand. These services are available at all prison sites nationally.
People in prison also have access to ACC counsellors who provide support via the Sensitive Claims Service.
Addiction Services
Corrections partners with specialist Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) providers to deliver AOD treatment services in prisons. These include low, moderate and high intensity programmes for those meeting criteria for mild to severe substance use disorder. These programmes seek to address the relationship between offending and substance use, support the development of recovery capital, and promote lasting lifestyle changes. For those on remand Corrections offers AOD harm minimisation interventions, which aim to increase a person's health literacy, as well as their awareness of and motivation to address substance use.
Rehabilitation programmes and psychology focused teams
Psychology and Programmes are services responsible for the majority of the internally provided offence-focused assessment and treatment of those in prison or on community-based sentences who are considered to be medium and high risk of serious re-offending. They also contract community partners which deliver family violence and harmful sexual behaviour services.
In addition to individual treatment we offer a number of programmes. Our programmes take an evidence-based approach, are culture, gender and trauma informed, and aim to support desistance from offending and to uphold public safety.
Our psychologists provide risk assessments to the New Zealand Parole Board and Court, and inform individuals treatment pathways. Work is underway to validate our risk assessment tools for the New Zealand population.
Offence-focused programmes are delivered by Programme Facilitators and Psychologists. We offer programmes to a range of cohorts, including those with violence and/or sexual offending treatment needs - guided by the Risk-Needs-Responsivity framework. Our most intensive programmes are delivered within our Special Treatment Units.
Behind all frontline work sits research, review and evaluation, integrity monitoring and specialist practice guidance.
Disability services
We have a small team of Social Workers who navigate access and continuity of care for disabled and older people in prisons. This includes providing accessibility and support recommendations, connecting people with community services, and strengthening disability and inclusive practice across our frontline teams. The Social Workers undertake rapid case reviews for people identified with the highest disability need to ensure that timely supports and interventions are provided.
There is also guidance for staff on the Corrections intranet on how to access an interpreter for hearing impaired people in prison. This includes advice on how to manage confidentiality concerns and information on the rights of deaf people.
Interested in a health and wellbeing focused role?
The Pae Ora group support staff to participate in professional development, including access to post-graduate education to support your career pathway. Check out the videos below to learn more about some of our different roles:
Nursing at Corrections explained
Pourewa shares her story working as a Kairuruku Hinengaro (Māori Mental Health Practitioner)