A former Portland immigration removal centre has been slammed for failings within it's day to day operations.

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) raised several concerns over the management of the former Verne Immigration Removal Centre on Portland.

The centre which closed in January held foreign nationals waiting to hear back decisions on their asylum claims or those awaiting deportation following a failed application.

In the report, IMB inspectors discovered that an unacceptable high level of detainees arriving at the Centre in the early hours.

As a result, the report added that the waiting area at night centre was often very full and there have been occasions when detainees had to remain outside in the Tascor vans until space inside became available with the report commenting that it was "not a satisfactory arrangement following a long journey."

Inspectors also highlighted that there was a lack of appropriate accommodation for detainees with serious mental health and infection control issues who the report claimed were being held in unsuitable accommodation.

Board inspectors also noted long delays (more than 70 days in one instance) in securing a hospital placement for mentally sick detainees with some having to stay in unsuitable accommodation for longer.

Consequently, inspectors said that this had placed a huge and an unnecessary strain on the non-nursing staff caring for them and may well have caused irrevocable delay to the detainees’ treatment and recovery.

Finally, the board noted concerns over the lack of mental health nurses following the changeover of Healthcare services from Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust (DHUFT) to Care UK in April last year.

As a result, all previously employed mental health nursing staff left the establishment leaving just one nurse to care for a dozen mental health patients.

However, board inspectors noted that The Verne continued to be a "well-run establishment" where, in the main, detainees were treated with "decency, fairness and respect."

Alongside this, it also said that staff housed a diverse global community and considerable effort was made to respond to these varied cultural and dietary needs.

Chris Miller, chairman of the IMB Verne Board, added: “With the closure of the immigration removal centre at The Verne, the Board wishes to record its appreciation of the work of the staff over the past forty-five months.

"Staff at all levels had rapidly to adjust to the needs of a population very different from the prison they had known.

"A minority of the detainees were aggressive and violent and these were handled with minimum control and restraint.

"We often observed instances of very disturbed individuals being shown exemplary patience and understanding by staff who had no formal training in mental health care.

"We hope that all staff will look back with pride on what they achieved."

The inspection comes as the former immigration removal centre is set to function to a Category C male adult prison just three years after a multi-million-pound re-role when it became an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC).

In response to the report, a Home Office spokesman, said: “Detention and removal are essential parts of effective immigration controls for those with no lawful basis to stay in the UK.

"It is vital these controls are carried out with dignity and respect and we take the welfare of our detainees very seriously.

"We are pleased that the IMB found that the Verne was well run and detainees were treated with decency, fairness and respect.

"However we will continue to work to ensure the recommendations made by the IMB in regards to the Verne inform future improvement work across the remaining detention estate."