STAFF shortages at a prison for sex offenders mean inmates wait up to two years before starting rehabilitation training, a new report has revealed.
The Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Whatton said the lack of staff was placing the prison "under stress".
It added that this was being added to by an increasing number of elderly prisoners requiring extra attention.
Whatton is a category C prison which houses 841 adult male sex offenders.
Inmates are offered education courses, vocational training and industrial workshops as part of their rehabilitation.
But the report, due to be released today, said they are having to wait far too long before they start these.
Colin Beckett, chairman of the board at Whatton Prison, said there were also concerns about the impact of staff shortages on prisoners.
He said: "These reduced resources create unacceptable delays in engaging prisoners in programmes designed to reduce the possibility of re-offending on release.
"The board is still concerned about long waiting lists for programmes, the problems created by an ageing prison population, the make-up of the prison population and the accumulative effect of decreasing resources on the running of the prison."
But he added: "The prison has operated well and professionally during the year."
In the review, the board said elderly prisoners require increasing social, medical, mental and resettlement assistance, including bed watches on transfer to hospital as well as routine hospital visits that are not always achieved due to staff shortages.
A board spokesman added: "The overall result is that the current staffing levels are barely sufficient to cover all the objectives needed to achieve the objectives of the prison."
The prison has said steps are being taken to reduce waiting lists for courses and there is an ongoing recruitment campaign to alleviate staff shortages. Prison governor Lynn Saunders said: "We are pleased independent inspectors have recognised that HMP Whatton is a well-run prison and highlighted continued dedication and commitment of staff.
"Staffing levels at the prison remain safe and sensible and the prison continues to operate a decent regime. We take the management of sex offenders in prison seriously and are providing longer, more intensive programmes for the most serious offenders, while also providing a range of other targeted treatments."
