CARAT HMP East Sutton Park

Who we are

The CRI CARATs team deliver the CARAT service across two prisons: one at HMP East Sutton Park - an open female prison establishment; and the other at HMP Blantyre House - a category C male resettlement prison. Providing support and resettlement services to service user's whose substance use has been problematic. CARATs also provide information and advice to prevent and/or reduce the harm associated with drug use, as well as onward referrals and supporting in to throughcare services upon release.

Through the use of assessment tools, motivational interviewing techniques, and structured group-work, CARATs provide individual assessment and care planning to identify problematic substance use - identified as, "any use which negatively affects a service user's health, social or legal status."

The CARATs team also refer to relevant agencies to provide ongoing support through a service user's prison sentence and upon release i.e. Drug Intervention Programme (DIP).

The CARATs team also provide information and advice to prevent potential harm through chaotic substance use, as well as provide substance awareness and throughcare support including links into residential rehabilitation and day programmes.

Also delivered by the team is a series of group work programmes - the programmes are accredited and include motivational enhancement and relapse prevention focused groups, as well as a number of stand alone, IDTS group sessions. IDTS sessions include Alcohol Awareness, Substance Awareness, How Crack/Cocaine Works, Harm Reduction and Relaxation.

The CARATS team are also committed to involving their clients in the development and delivery of effective drug treatment services. CARATS at HMP/YOI East Sutton Park and HMP Blantyre House operate an open door policy, and carry out regular service user surveys, through which the views and opinions of service users are listened to. Also, in both establishments, active peer support/worker schemes are in place and managed by the CARATs team.

As both establishments are resettlement prisons, links into the community are prioritised and maintained by the CARATs team. Very close links exist between the local CRI Kent and Medway DIP teams and the CARATs service and the DIP service regularly attend the prisons to complete assessment and resettlement work. Offenders from both establishments are released over a wide geographical area - but the CARATs team keep links from all DIP and prison areas as personal as possible to help create as seamless service as possible from transferring prisons and back into the community.