Several quick-thinking prison officers at the country’s high security prison have been hailed heroes for saving a prisoner’s life.
The prisoner - whom we are not identifying - went into cardiac arrest in a prison van while being brought back to Portlaoise prison from hospital on Sunday.
The serial offender was initially rushed to hospital by ambulance early on Sunday after he was discovered unconscious in his cell after a suspected alcohol and drugs overdose.
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“He was revived in hospital and started attacking hospital staff,” sources told this paper.
Staff at the hospital requested for assistance and reinforcements arrived from Portlaoise prison to enable nurses treat him and to protect staff and other patients.
“Nursing staff and patients became very distressed and praised the prison officers for their handling of the situation,” a source said.
After he was cleared to be returned back to the prison, due to the amount of drugs still in his system, he suffered a cardiac arrest in the prison van and stopped breathing, sources have confirmed.
“He went limp in the prison van on the roadway leading back to the prison and stopped breathing,” sources told this paper.
Quick-thinking officers - including a senior prison officer - who were accompanying the prisoner immediately performed CPR - saving the prisoner’s life.
“The senior officer who was assisted by other staff performed CPR for around 20 minutes before medical staff and an ambulance arrived on the scene,” the source continued.
The incident - which was caught both on CCTV and the senior officer’s body worn camera - happened outside the prison on the roadway leading back to the prison building.
The prisoner - who is serving time for a serious offence - was brought back to Portlaoise Hospital with a large contingent of prison staff to ensure the safety and security of the escort where It later transpired after blood tests that there were extremely high levels of alcohol and drugs in his system.
He was later released and according to sources “he is doing well now.”
“This is not the first time the senior officer with many years service and highly regarded by his colleagues has been credited with saving a prisoner's life,” sources said.
Body worn cameras have only been introduced into the prison service in the last few weeks and only specialised staff are utilising them.
Both the body worn camera footage and CCTV footage are currently being assessed by senior management.
In a statement to this paper, the Irish Prison Services said: “The Irish Prison Service does not comment on individual cases."
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