SMUGGLING of drugs into Oxfordshire’s main prison are still a major concern for inspectors.

An annual review of Bullingdon Prison, near Bicester, by the Independent Monitoring Board also criticised education and health services.

It comes a month after Chief Inspector of Prisons Nick Hardwick said inmates spent too long in their cells, rather than learning new skills, and raised concerns over healthcare because of long waiting times for prisoners and cancelled appointments.

An inmate filmed parcels of illegal substances being thrown over a wall in December. The new review said there had been improvements in drug prevention but monitoring of the visitors area to stop smuggling had been “erratic”.

The board also had serious concerns about the use of mobile phones to organise smuggling and it wants technology used to block signals.

A string of issues were highlighted in this latest report, including inadequate medical services, with inmates waiting up to six weeks for a GP appointment, and a high level of errors with medication and controlled drugs, which it said had since been resolved.

Lack of education provision “must be resolved extremely urgently”, the report said.

Other concerns included prisoners eligible to vote in last year’s General Election being unable to because paperwork was not organised, a backlog of foreign prisoners awaiting deportation, and too few places in mental health hospitals.

However, the report was generally satisfied with the overall standard of the prison management, treatment of prisoners and facilities provided.

A Prison Service spokesman said: “The report will be fully considered by ministers. We will respond to the board in due course.”