THE governor of Greenock’s crumbling 113-year-old prison says she is ‘incredibly proud’ of its latest inspection report despite a damning assessment of the jail's condition - which has been described as 'appalling'.
Morag Stirling hailed the hard work of her staff who were praised for fostering ‘excellent’ relationships with prisoners in ‘almost impossible’ working conditions.
A report published by chief inspector of prisons, Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, made 68 improvement recommendations.
READ MORE: 'Appalling' condition of HMP Greenock highlighted by top inspector
Ms Sinclair-Gieben has called on the Scottish Government and Scottish Prison Service to commit to replacing the dilapidated Edwardian era building with a new jail in Greenock.
The SPS spent £8m in 2011 in acquiring the site of the former Greenock High School off Inverkip Road for a proposed new prison - but nothing has happened since.
Governor Stirling told the Tele her staff’s primary focus remained the care of the prison’s inmates.
She said: “Our staff get on with the job in hand which is looking after the men and women who live here.
“We would obviously like things to be improved but there has been a lot of work around improving the facilities as they are currently.
“We already have plans to look at the purposeful activity side of the business which is ongoing.
“Things are underway, we have further work planned starting this year around the kitchen and the flat roof.
“Flat roofs are a major issue for us, we’ve already had a report into the roof structure and also designs are underway.
“That work will commence and SPS is committed to a longer-term development plan, and I think we’ve already commented previously that we hope to keep this prison open until at least 2030.
“Obviously that takes work and everybody’s effort, but we have improved staff facilities, we have improved cellular accommodation in terms of painting, and it’s mentioned in the report that they saw a vast improvement with that.
“We’re incredibly proud of the report.
“We know we’ve got good staff but having that validation has been very good.
“Staff are really enthused that their professionalism and care has been recognised.”
The Telegraph previously revealed that scores of cells at the prison had been put out of use due to dampness and flooding.
Inspectors noted that there had been significant efforts made to address dampness in the cells of the prison as well as the physical deterioration to other parts of infrastructure but questioned the ‘long-term durability’ of the repairs.
Governor Stirling said: “The cells were dehumidified, stripped right back to the bare brick and then different layers of protective coating were put on.
“That is continually monitored so any signs of re-occurring damp are monitored and what we’re trying to do is evaluate how long this will take to start showing signs of damp.
“Staff obviously monitor it day-to-day in their daily checks but also our health and safety co-ordinator and our estates team monitor those cells regularly and measure, obviously the damp is visible at times when it comes through.
“We will continue to do that and we will continue to try and keep the cells as up to that spec as we possibly can.
“Given that we’re hoping that the government may fund a new prison longer-term, this is about doing the best we possibly can to keep the prison safe, manageable and delivering a good level of care like we currently do.”
In the inspection report, the jail also was criticised for the type, number and level of training and employment opportunities that it offered to inmates.
Prisoners at the jail were described as being ‘demoralised and dissatisfied’ with the lack of sufficient employment opportunities.
Attendance at the majority of friends and family visit sessions was also found to be poor despite having a ‘relaxed and conducive atmosphere’.
Governor Stirling confirmed that her team had already started a ‘purposeful activity review’ aimed at identifying more opportunities for inmates.
She said her team would work with Fife College and other community partners to identify new activities for them to offer but was keen to emphasise the report’s praise of the classes that were held.
The prison boss also added that her team were planning to survey families to see how they could alter their approach.
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