An inmate who accidentally set himself alight while on drugs burned to death because prison staff took too long to answer an emergency bell, a watchdog revealed today.
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman Sue McAllister said it took 16 minutes for the officer on duty to go to the man’s cell. The victim’s clothes had caught fire while he was smoking a psychoactive substance.
Staff found the prisoner with severe burns and his clothes burned off. They gave emergency care and called a paramedic, but the man died in hospital as his “injuries were not survivable”. A burns specialist who treated him said the initial delay in getting help to him had “definitely affected the outcome”.
The case is one of a number of fatalities highlighted in Ms McAllister’s annual report, published today, in which she warns of the “worryingly high” number of drug-related deaths behind bars, as well as a 23 per cent rise in self-inflicted deaths to 91 in a year.
She says many problems are down to a repeated failure to implement investigation recommendations, including calls to respond to bells more promptly.
The man who burned to death in the unnamed prison is referred to as “Mr N” in the report, which says he “pressed his emergency cell bell one morning but it was 16 minutes before an officer answered it. He found Mr N’s cell filled with smoke and Mr N calling for help.
“It appears Mr N may not have reacted initially because he was under the influence of the drug. The delay was unacceptable. If the officer on duty had responded to Mr N’s cell bell promptly, his life might have been saved.”
Ms McAllister says the officer should face disciplinary action.
