Digital Handbook

Making It Happen

Optional ideas informed by the EuroPris Staff Wellbeing Expert Group to help you explore the topic further and adapt approaches to your own prison service.

• Model healthy behaviours as a leadership standard to normalise wellbeing, including visible participation in healthy activities (e.g., managers using fitness facilities, participating in wellness programmes).

• Share practical health information regularly to build awareness, including newsletters, seminars and online resources (e.g., intranet wellbeing portals).

• Offer comprehensive wellness programmes to reinforce healthy habits, including nutrition workshops, fitness challenges and smoking cessation support (e.g., multiweek wellbeing courses).

• Make healthy food accessible to enable better dietary choices, including balanced options in catering and vending (e.g., healthy option meals, healthy snacks in cafeterias).

• Create opportunities for movement during shifts to reduce strain, including walking meetings or standing desks (e.g., activity break prompts, on-site fitness classes).

• Schedule regular health checks and vaccinations to protect long term wellbeing, including preventative screenings (e.g., annual onsite assessments).

• Ensure immediate access to primary care to prevent delays, including workplace medical support (e.g., designated primary care, onsite GP routes, pathways for urgent care).

• Provide faster access to specialist healthcare through clear pathways (e.g., fast track referrals to hospitals and specialists).

• Enable flexible scheduling for health needs to support treatment and recovery, including protected appointment time (e.g., flexible medical appointment policy including accompanying children, time for preventive check-ups).

• Offer mental health and psychosocial support as part of holistic wellbeing, including (confidential) counselling or chaplaincy (e.g., integrated wellbeing programmes, psychological support, structured employee support services).