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An annual prison report has praised HMP Swaleside for its reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Independent Monitoring Boards report into the Brabazon Road site in Eastchurch outlined the hard-hitting affect Covid-19 had on the prison, but praised its staff in a number of areas.
A review highlighted how at one point during the pandemic around 150 staff were off work with the virus, or having to self-isolate because of it.
HMP Swaleside was praised for nearly completing all of its refurbishment work, with only wings G and H remaining to be upgraded, as well as tackling a worrying rat infestation last year.
The report said: The rat infestation is a thing of the past, despite one or two recent sightings.
"This is partly due to the installation of red food bins as well as the extermination programme."
The prison's education provider, Milton Keynes College, was praised for their reaction to the pandemic, including providing in-cell packs when classes weren't available.
'The board has concerns over the mental health of residents...'
The IMB added: "The lack of other meaningful activity is to be regretted, but is a natural result from the need to keep the men safe."
The Sheppey prison was also praised for a number of other things, including its handling of some of the prison's most challenging prisoners, staff being galvanised by the pandemic and coming together, its ability to function with lower staff numbers and an improvement in the prevention of contraband to the prison.
However, some issues were raised by the report, such as concerns over the mental health of prisoners and a lack of body warn cameras by staff.
The report said: "The board has concerns over the mental health of the residents generally, with instances of self-harm rising, though, significantly, a small number of residents are responsible for a large number of repeat occurrences.
"There is also a view that as the regime starts to loosen, there will be an increase in incidents related to debt as the residents again start to interact. This is undoubtedly preying on the minds of some residents.
"There are some issues that are recurring. There are not enough body worn cameras to go round all uniformed staff – this must be addressed in order to properly establish facts after any incidents. Several of the six lifts around the prison
are very often out of order due to lack of parts.
"Keywork fulfilment is patchy, going from very good to poor when staffing levels were at their worst, despite management’s best efforts, due to COVID-19.
"Heating during cold weather has been a problem on some wings, particularly H, but generally speaking this has been put right fairly quickly."
IMB chairman Bob Chapman said: “Despite a pick-up at the end of our reporting year the outstanding success is the continued fall in the number of violent incidents.
'Success of the in-cell educations is to be applauded...'
"Management is to be congratulated on focussing on addressing many of the residents’ complex problems in a challenging environment.
"We also believe that due to several combined initiatives fewer items of contraband are entering the prison.
"Success of the in-cell education packs is to be applauded, as is the improvement in the maintenance of the fabric of the buildings and the introduction of video contact with families.
"Certain aspects, such as substance misuse, are being tackled well, but some, such as vocational training, are lagging behind.
"We do have concerns about the effect on the mental health of men locked up for long periods due to COVID. We also note the recent rise in the number of complaints made to us about officers, and emphasise our inability to monitor this.”
