At HMP Bronzefield, women with cancer are chained during treatment, denied hospital care, left to bleed in their cells, and forced to endure filthy, malnourishing conditions. Emergency bells go unanswered, and basic medical rights are ignored. This is not justice—it is systemic cruelty.
Meanwhile, King Charles received world-class cancer treatment. Why are women in prison, many serving short sentences or simply awaiting deportation, left to die?
Research shows the truth: prisoners in England are 28% less likely to receive curative cancer treatment and face 9% higher mortality. Nearly half of prisons in England have been rated inadequate for healthcare provision. A 2023 investigation revealed shocking shortages of medication, long delays, and unsanitary conditions for women behind bars.
At Bronzefield—a private prison run by Sodexo—one nurse is often left responsible for over 500 women after 7PM. Safeguarding warnings from ambulance services have been ignored. Women miss chemotherapy and radiotherapy because the prison fails to take them to appointments. They are denied special diets, cut off from cancer helplines, and refused even basic dignity items like deodorant and clean clothes.
The women’s stories are devastating:
- Grace, a former military officer, had surgery while handcuffed and was left chained to sponge-bathe with an infected drain.
- Khadija died of stomach cancer after months of medical dismissal—released only when it was too late for treatment.
- Kim bled so heavily from untreated cervical cancer her bed was soaked in blood, but was told to “prove” she was bleeding.
- Farah missed 22 hospital appointments due to neglect and was falsely declared in remission.
- Mayan, given months to live, recently missed life-extending proton beam therapy because prison staff failed to take her to hospital.
None of these women were sentenced to die.
We Demand Urgent Change
- Immediate humane medical care in prison—no chains, no delays.
- Guaranteed access to cancer specialists, emergency contacts, and proper nutrition.
- Mandatory hospital escorts without restraints for diagnostic and life-saving treatment.
- Prison healthcare to meet the same standards as the community.
- A full review of the Bail Act to protect the right to life and freedom from inhumane treatment.
Every day of delay costs lives. These women are mothers, sisters, daughters—and they deserve dignity, care, and justice.
👉 Sign the petition now to demand the Ministry of Justice, Sodexo Ltd, and CNWL NHS Foundation Trust act to stop this torture.
To learn more, read The View 14 . Join us in calling for Sodexo’s contract to be removed and for justice to be restored behind prison walls.