A scandal-hit south-west London prison has begun to recover but major concerns remain, an inspection has found.
HMP Wandsworth's Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) said the prison remained "inhumane and unfit for purpose", with unacceptable staff shortages, although it had made significant improvements following a catastrophic inspection last year.
Staffing is the most urgent issue at the Victorian category B men's jail, which was built in 1851, the IMB's report for 2024/25 found. It said the level of staff absence was "unacceptable", describing how the prison of nearly 1,500 men was often run by fewer than 85 officers, while officers received inadequate training.
Staff shortages meant prisoners were often denied enough time out of their cells, which affected their ability to exercise, have showers, use the kiosk, go to classes and receive medical care in some cases. Men often spent 22 hours a day locked in extremely cramped cells.
The IMB also warned the prison would remain "inhumane and unfit for purpose" unless fundamental changes and upgrades were made, with more than 90 per cent of prisoners sharing cells that were built for single occupancy.
Broken windows and the "inherent failing infrastructure of the buildings", including hot water pipes going through cells, meant conditions were "dangerously cold in winter and unacceptably hot in summer". The board said "vermin and mould flourished" at the jail due to inadequate ventilation.
While the report said the prison was still not safe, violence levels were falling. There were four deaths in the jail compared to 10 in 2023/24, while there were 726 self-harm incidents involving 261 men as opposed to 998 incidents concerning 302 men in 2023/24.
The IMB also found a marked reversal of a trend of increasing violence in the prison for the first time since 2017. There were 354 prisoner-on-staff attacks compared to 518 such assaults in 2023/24 and 360 prisoner-on-prisoner attacks, down from 442 of these assaults in 2023/24.
The prison's new healthcare centre, known as the Nightingale unit, opened three years late in May. Most clinics were now taking place there, although dental appointments remained in the old facility as the dental chair did not fit in the allocated room.
Further concerns were raised about the new unit as it did not have any accommodation, which meant inpatients still had to stay in the prison's two older "wholly inadequate" mental health units.
The IMB said the prison had shown significant improvement on concerns identified in a "catastrophic" inspection in May 2024, which led to an urgent notification to improve and a cash boost of £100million to be spent over five years.
A security audit of the prison after Daniel Khalife escaped in September 2023 found 81 failures, which had reduced to three "significant" and one "critical" failings involving processes for external escorts by May 2025. Inspectors said these remaining concerns were immediately addressed.
The report said: "HMP Wandsworth has started to recover from the unacceptable level to which it had sunk last year. Positive new leadership and a sense of strategic direction enabled the prison to begin to address long-term problems.
"On average, one third of staff were absent every day, making it very difficult to run a consistent regime. The lack of available staff, their inexperience and, frequently, their demotivated attitude hampered the ability of the prison to provide an acceptable level of care and regime for prisoners."
A Prison Service spokesperson said: "We are pleased the IMB has recognised the progress being made at HMP Wandsworth. But we know more needs to be done, which is why we have increased staffing levels and are investing up to £300million to improve conditions and keep prisons safe and secure."
