Published Tuesday, 08 December 2009
The internal document drawn up by the Prison Service and South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust found that drug use and mental health problems at the high security jail are on the rise.
The report points out to a lack of suitable training for medical and nursing staff, inadequate care for the mentally ill and lack of consideration of the care needs of women and young people.
It says the culture of security dominates over the culture of care in the prison, resulting in increased drug dependency and high levels of mental health problems among inmates.
Entitled Transforming Care at Maghaberry, the report also spells out how the prison service hopes to implement change in the prison, days after governor Steve Rodford quit five months into the job.
On Monday, it was reported that Rodford had left after the discovery of intelligence material on him inside a cell holding a dissident prisoner.
Last month bomb-making equipment was found during a four-day search of the jail.
The find came weeks after traces of the explosive Semtex were found during a previous search.
"I do understand that when you have a difficult security situation that takes primacy but if we are really trying to address these issues in the longer term we need to get balance on the way forward," UUP Lagan Valley MLA Basil McCrea told UTV.
"If you don't deal with the situation properly these people go back out to society and re-offend."
According to the report, almost 600 prisoners serving a sentence at Maghaberry have a personality disorder and just over 300 inmates were known to community health officials before they went inside.
Rodford had been appointed in July following the suspension of four medical officers after convicted sex offender John Deery was found hanging in his cell.
His death came just 12 months after another inmate, Colin Bell, hanged himself in his cell even though he was meant to have been on "suicide watch".
Staff were disciplined over Bell's death after it emerged that officers who were supposed to be monitoring the prisoner were lying on makeshift beds watching television.
A spokesman for the Prison Service said he couldn't comment because he hasn't seen the report.