Healthcare staff did not provide treatment to the same level as would be expected in the outside community when Christopher Walton died at HMP Ranby in February 2025, according to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.
An investigation by the Ombudsman, Adrian Usher, found that Mr Walton, 67, was in noticeably-deteriorating health. His family had raised the issue in phone calls to the health line at the prison, but their messages were said to be “unrecorded” and were certainly ignored. They should have been logged before deletion, but this did not happen.
There was no adequate investigation at the time into whether Mr Walton was taking medication, and no specialist staff were allocated to treat him. The prison’s healthcare unit was described as being chronically understaffed. At the time of the death, there was no mechanism for prison officers to demand an urgent health assessment for prisoners, and the condition of prisoners looking seriously unwell was inadequately checked.
Healthcare at Ranby at the time of the death was provided by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, but the Trust announced in April 2025 that it was withdrawing from its prison contracts to focus on providing better services in other sectors. Since October, healthcare at Ranby has been provided by Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
The Nottinghamshire Trust had been criticised in a number of inquests, including at HMP Lowdham Grange and HMP Nottingham. It was also accused of failures in its care of a mental health patient who went on to commit three murders in Nottingham whilst supposedly being treated.
No comments:
Post a Comment