The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, who investigates all deaths
in prisons, welcomed the call from the Chief Inspector of Prisons
for urgent action from Secretary of State for Justice over the
“fundamentally unsafe” Nottingham prison.
The Acting PPO, Elizabeth Moody, said: "The number of deaths at
HMP Nottingham is a matter of real concern and the Prison
Service's response to deaths at the prison over recent years has
been troubling.”
The PPO makes recommendations following investigations into
deaths in prisons but there has been increasing concern that
these are not always acted upon by the Prison Service and that,
as a result, mistakes and failures can be repeated.
Elizabeth Moody added: “It is entirely right that Ministers
should now assure themselves that action is taken to prevent this
unacceptable state of affairs at Nottingham from continuing."
In demanding urgent action from , Peter Clarke, HM Chief
Inspector of Prisons, today (18 Jan) raised concerns over eight
apparent self-inflicted deaths at HMP Nottingham in the two years
up to January 2018, as well as high levels of self-harm.
The PPO has identified a number of key concerns from its
investigations into deaths at HMP Nottingham:
- · The
importance of initial identification in prisoners of risk of
suicide or self-harm.
-
· Assessment
and management of those individuals, particularly applying
multi-disciplinary assessment rather than relying on the way the
prisoner presents and talks on arrival in the jail.
-
· Referring
mental health concerns and issues to healthcare or other experts.
- · The
importance of staff responding, in line with HMIP expectations,
when prisoners press their cell bells and of staff entering cells
promptly when prisoners are found unresponsive.
-
· Keeping
proper medical records.
-
· Effective
emergency medical response.
