A health mentoring project in Northern Ireland prisons has received a global award for patient and community engagement. The initiative, known as Ask HIM, won at the BMJ IHI Global Improvers Awards in Oslo.

The project involves Healthcare in Prison staff from the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland Prison Service, and Belfast Metropolitan College's 360 programme. Men in custody at HM Prison Maghaberry designed and lead the effort.

Ask HIM mentors wear red T-shirts to assist new arrivals. They explain healthcare services and support access to care. Mentors serve as role models to connect inmates to wellbeing resources.

Mentors co-design induction sessions, health campaigns, and group programmes on blood-borne viruses, anxiety, sleep hygiene, and living well in prison. They run a Men's Shed with prison officers for isolated individuals and offer multilingual sessions for foreign nationals.

Mentors contribute to data collection on daily activities and conversations with new arrivals. This informs programme improvements. They help establish governance, including training, supervision, and recruitment of new mentors alongside staff and the prison governor.

Rachel Gibbs, South Eastern Trust Director of Mental Health, Learning Disability, Psychological Services and Healthcare in Prison, expressed delight at the recognition. She highlighted the partnership's role in fostering a people-centred approach to prison health.

Dr Ruth Gray, South Eastern Trust Assistant Director in Quality Improvement, noted the project's impact through co-design with inmates and staff. She described it as building trust and improving care access.