“HE WASN’T treated like a human being.”

That is the view of the sister of an inmate at Winchester Prison, marooned with another disabled prisoner for months in a single cell for 23-and-a-half-hours a day.

She said: “I worked at Southampton General Hospital, and if we had treated people that way we would have been kicked out. I don’t care who he is or what he has done, you are not supposed to treat people like that.”

Governor David Rogers is now tasked with sorting the jail, still recovering from a report by inspectors on Wednesday that exposed poor standards.

Mr Rogers has said he will turn around Hampshire’s biggest prison, but there are still ripples from the report. The family of one of the disabled inmates is considering legal action and will be writing to the prison ombudsman.

The two, who have not been named, could not use the shower as it had not been adapted, and a lack of mobility meant that other inmates had to bring them their meals, the report said.

The sister of one, from Southampton, told the Daily Echo: “The way he has been treated has been appalling. It is a mess. They have just ignored him really. He hasn’t even had any effective painkillers. He is diabetic and has had five potentially fatal ‘hypo’ attacks in the last six months.

“He says he is disgusted and is pleased now to be in a new prison.

There the staff call him by his first name, not his last. They treat him like a human being.”

He lost so much weight his false leg did not fit, further reducing his mobility, she said.

Her anger comes as Mr Rogers, 46, also spoke to the Daily Echo about making changes at the jail.

On the plus side, the only way is up for him, for whom this is the first command of an adult prison after running Reading Young Offenders’ Institution. He took over last September, just in time for the inspection.

“The place was struggling. To have a ship without a captain, it was slightly rudderless,” he said, referring to predecessor David Ward’s long-term sick leave.

It will be a pressured job, but he knows about the heat of kitchens.

Mr Rogers is a trained chef, having run one with 21 staff when he was just 23. But he tired of the responsibility.

Switching to the prison service, he enjoyed being a junior officer with no responsibility, but has obviously changed his view, as his steady rise shows.

Currently Winchester is graded a mediocre two out of four. Mr Rogers has an ambition to get its rating to four. The challenge is tough. Winchester is a local prison with 680 inmates, taking direct from local courts – a constant disruptive flow in and out.

He has clear ideas. “I’m very strong on morality. In this type of environment it’s very important.

It’s a belief born out of 22 years’ experience.

“I have asked prison officers to act like parents, to set boundaries, to chastise when inmates do wrong, but praise when they do right. I want to encourage good behaviour.

“The majority of the men have never had an adult who sets these boundaries. It is never too late, you have to keep knocking on the door, that prison will work and an inmate will become ready to change.

“It is difficult being a prisoner, it is not a pleasant life. Some younger ones will tell you it’s an easy life, with your mates. But get them one to one and it is different. They have lost their liberty and that is difficult for a human.

“I’m not asking more from prison officers, I’m asking them to work smarter. If we are going to reduce offending we have to start working differently to create more of a business environment, focusing on the key issues, the offenders.”

Mr Rogers sees the key in building relationships between staff and prisoners, something the HMIP report highlighted as weak.

It will be vital to motivate staff. “I have a good relationship with them. They know what I am after and they buy in to that.

“Yes, we are public service, but we are keen to run like a business. With the economic situation, there is not an endless pot of money. I have to run a safe prison, but also as efficiently as I can. That was not always the case with the prison service. We are becoming a lean organisation.”

He is not just expecting more from staff, but also the inmates: “If you are coming to prison I am going to challenge you. If you have an educational need I will fulfil that, to give you the skills to go out and get employment.”

But he wants to use inmates’ privileges more as a motivator.

“I’m keen to empower staff to use that in a rigorous manner.

“It makes their job better, make their job easier. I use an analogy. I can’t stand at the front trying to pull this juggernaut on my own. It’s not possible. But if you get staff pushing together from behind you get the momentum going. I need them with me. I’m up for the challenge.”