Wormwood Scrubs Prison

Book and plan your visit to Wormwood Scrubs

To visit someone in Wormwood Scrubs you must:

• be on that person’s visitor list
• book your visit at least 2 days in advance
• have the required ID with you when you go

At least one visitor must be 18 or older at every visit.

There may be a limit to the number of visits a person can have. You can check this with Wormwood Scrubs.

Contact Wormwood Scrubs if you have any questions about visiting.

Help with the cost of your visit

If you get certain benefits or have an NHS health certificate, you might be able to get help with the costs of your visit, including:

• travel to Wormwood Scrubs
• somewhere to stay overnight
• meals

How to book family and friends visits

You can book your visit online.

To bookor aby visit, call the visits booking line.telephone.

Booking/informationTelephone booking and information line: 0300 060 6511
Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm
Find out about call charges

Visiting times

Visitors arriving more than half an hour late will not be admitted.

Weekdays:

• Monday: 9amA wing 9:30am to 11am and 2pm2:30pm to 4pm
• Tuesday: 9amB wing 9:30am to 11am
• Wednesday: 9amC wing 9:30am to 11am and 2pm2:30pm to 4pm
• Thursday: 9amD wing 9:30am to 11am and 2pm2:30pm to 4pm
• Friday: 9amE wing 9:30am to 11am

YouWeekends:

D willwing notvisits beon admittedSaturday ifmornings youand areE morewing thanvisits halfon anSaturday hourafternoons late.on the following dates:

• Nov: 12 and 26
• Dec: 10 and 24
• Jan: 7 and 21
• Feb: 4 and 18

A wing visits on Saturday mornings and B wing on Saturday afternoons on the following dates:

• Nov: 19
• Dec: 3, 17 and 31
• Jan: 14 and 28
• Feb: 11 and 25

C wing visits, afternoon sessions only, on the following dates:

• Nov: 20
• Dec: 4 and 18
• Jan: 1, 15 and 29
• Feb: 12 and 26

Family development days take place on Sundays on the following dates:

• Nov: 13 and 27
• Dec: 11 and 25
• Jan: 8 and 22
• Feb: 5 and 19

How to book legal and professional visits

Email: hmppsvisitbooking@noms.gsi.gov.ukhmppsvisitbooking@justice.gov.uk

You can also book by telephone.

Booking line: 0300 060 6511
Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm
Find out about call charges

Legal visits can take place at an open table or a closed booth.

Legal visiting times

• Everyday:Monday to Friday: 9am to 11am and 2pm to 4pm

Getting to Wormwood Scrubs

Find Wormwood Scrubs on a map

Wormwood Scrubs is a 10-minute walk from East Acton underground station. The closest mainline railway station is London Paddington. Several local bus routes pass the prison.

To plan your journey by public transport:

• use Transport for London journey planner
• use National Rail Enquiries

If coming by car, you can park outside the prison. You will need to pay and display at certain times during the week. Check times and prices on the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham website.

There is no visitor parking in the prison.

Entering Wormwood Scrubs

All visitors, aged 16 or older must prove their identity before entering the prison. Read the list of acceptable forms of ID when visiting a prison.

All visitors will need to be given a pat-down search, including children. You may also be sniffed by security dogs.

Wormwood Scrubs has a family-friendly dress code policy which means visitors should dress appropriately. You may be turned away if you are wearing items like vests, low-cut tops, high-cut shorts or dresses, ripped jeans, flip-flops or headwear other than that worn for religious reasons. Additionally, you cannot wear anything with offensive patterns or slogans, uniforms, steel toe-capped boots or motorcycle boots. You will need to remove hats, scarves, sunglasses and metal accessories before you go in. Ask in the visitors centre if you have questions about the dress code.

Each adult visitor is allowed to take in a maximum of £25 to buy food and drink from the canteen in the visiting hall.

There are strict controls on what you can take into Wormwood Scrubs. You will have to leave most of the things you have with you in a locker or with security, including pushchairs and car seats. You will need a £1 coin for the locker.

You will be told the rules by an officer at the start of your visit. If you break the rules, your visit could be cancelled and you could be banned from visiting again.

Visiting facilities

There is a visitors centre run by the Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT) charity.

The centre is open: * Monday to Thursday, 8am to 5pm * Friday 8am to 1pm * Saturday 8am to 5pm * Sunday 1pm to 5pm

Email: wormwoodscrubs@prisonadvice.org.uk
Telephone: 020 8735 0595
Find out about call charges

Family daysDevelopment Sessions

ThereA areFamily currentlyDevelopment noSession is held on alternating Sunday afternoons on a wing-by-wing basis. This session may include family daysdays, beingchildren’s run.visits, homework clubs and other initiatives.

Keep in touch with someone at Wormwood Scrubs

There are several ways you can keep in touch with a prisoner during their time at Wormwood Scrubs.

Secure video calls

Secure video calling is available at this prison. Family and friends will need to download the Prison Video app, create an account, register all visitors and add the prisoner to their contact list.

Read more about how it works

Phone calls

Prisoners have access to in-cell and landing phones for making outgoing calls to preapproved phone numbers only.

They can phone anyone named on their list of friends and family. This list is checked by security when they first arrive so it may take a few days before they are able to call.

You can also exchange voicemails using the Prison Voicemail service.

Officers may listen to phone calls as a way of preventing crime and helping keep people safe.

Email

You can send emails to someone in Wormwood Scrubs using the Email a Prisoner service.

You might also be able to attach photos and receive replies from the prisoner, depending on the rules at Wormwood Scrubs.

Letters

You can write at any time.

Include the person’s name and prisoner number on the envelope.

If you do not know their prisoner number,number, you contactcan Wormwooduse Scrubsthe Find a prisoner - GOV.UK. service online.

All post, apart from legal letters, will be opened and checked by officers.

Send money and gifts

You can use the free and fast online service to send money to someone in prison.

You can no longer send money by bank transfer, cheque, postal order or send cash by post.

If you cannot use the online service, you may be able to apply for an exemption - for example if you:

• are unable to use a computer, a smart phone or the internet
• do not have a debit card

This will allow you to send money by post.

Gifts and parcels

Prisoners are given a list of approved items that can be sent to them as gifts. Contact Wormwood Scrubs for more information on what’s allowed.

HMPFamily Wormwoodand Scrubsfriends will accept parcels from all courier/delivery services, however family/friends are strongly advised to use Parcelforce to send parcels in to prisoners to ensure successful deliverydelivery. asParcelforce they are reliably able to comply with the prisonprison’s local security requirements for receiving parcels. Whilst other couriers may be used, if they cannot comply with the prison requirements parcels this can lead to delays or parcels being returned.

Make sure to include the person’s name and prisoner number on the parcel.

All parcels will be opened and checked by officers.

Friends and families of prisoners are permitted to send books directly to their loved ones, or can order books from approved retailers, which can source and send the books on to prisoners.   For the full list of approved retailers, you can read the HMPPS Incentives Policy, Annex F.

Life at Wormwood Scrubs

Wormwood Scrubs is committed to providing a safe and educational environment where men can learn new skills to help them on release.

Security and safeguarding

Every person at Wormwood Scrubs has a right to feel safe. The staff are responsible for their safeguarding and welfare at all times.

For further information about what to do when you are worried or concerned about someone in prison visit the Prisoners’ Families helpline website.

All safeguarding processes are overseen by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Safeguarding Adults Board.

Arrival and first night

When a prisoner first arrives at Wormwood Scrubs, they will be able to contact a family member by phone. This could be quite late in the evening, depending on the time they arrive.

They will get to speak to someone at the prison who will check how they’re feeling and ask about any immediate health and wellbeing needs.

Induction

Each person who arrives at Wormwood Scrubs gets an induction that lasts about a week. They will meet professionals who will help them with:

• health and wellbeing, including mental and sexual health
• any substance misuse issues, including drugs and alcohol
• personal development in custody and on release, including skills, education and training
• other support (sometimes called ‘interventions’), such as managing difficult emotions

Everyone also finds out about the rules, fire safety, and how things like calls and visits work.

Accommodation

Around 1200 men live at Wormwood Scrubs in a mixture of single and shared rooms. There are 5 main wings (A to E) plus a number of smaller specialist units.

Facilities include book rooms on all wings and a fully equipped gym.

Wormwood Scrubs Prison has a diverse, multi-faith chaplaincy team providing support to prisoners.

Education and work

Prisoners can choose from a broad range of learning opportunities, including:

• Englishenglish
• maths
• information and communication technology (ICT)
• Englishenglish for speakers of other languages (ESOL)
• painting and decoratingcatering
• customer service
• barbering
• rail-track laying

There are several contract workshops at Wormwood Scrubs where prisoners can gain work experience and qualifications, including industrial cleaningcleaning, laundry, and laundry.textiles.

Support for family and friends

Find out about advice and helplines for family and friends.

Problems and complaints

If you have a problem contact Wormwood Scrubs.

HM Prison and Probation Service publishes action plans for Wormwood Scrubs in response to independent inspections.

Contact Wormwood Scrubs

Governor: Amy Frost

Telephone: 020 8588 3200
Fax: 020 8588 3201
Find out about call charges

Address

See map

Safer custody hotline

If you are concerned about the safety or wellbeing of a prisoner in Wormwood Scrubs, call the safer custody hotline.

Telephone: 020 858 832 16
Monday to Sunday, 8am to 5pm
Find out about call charges

If you have immediate concerns outside of these hours please contact 020 8588 3200.